Almost Had You
by PolHop
Summary: She couldn't watch him have the perfect life while she sat there broken hearted. Penelope needed to start a new life, she was ready to stop living a lie. I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1

Penelope sat in the cold hotel room ready to complete the final part of her plan. She needed to do something to help mend her broken heart, before there was nothing left to fix. She pulled out her laptop and began to write the hardest letter she will even have to:

 _Dear Handsome,_

 _Frist let me apologize for this letter. I know you will think I am taking the easy way out with not confronting you in person. Just know that my heart just couldn't take it anymore. You are the most amazing kindhearted person I have ever come across in my life; the past 10 years have truly been a blessing in the fact that I knew you. You are not just some badass FBI agent; you are so much more than that. It's probably one of the main reasons I fell in love with you way back in the beginning._

 _I know this letter is selfish on my part, but I just can't do it anymore. I look at your life now with Savanna, and I'm happy for you, I really am. All the signs point to you asking her to marry you… I just can't be there for that. Every day I wake up and pray that today won't be the day you announce your engagement. I might be able to put on a front whenever you are around, but hearing those words will probably kill me. So, here am I cutting it off at the pass. You will be marrying her, having beautiful, smart children with her… while I watched from the sidelines. I just couldn't do it._

 _I knew I loved you when I first met you, I didn't know I was in love with you till right before Battle when you made me realize a man in your league would never fall in love with a woman in mine. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that… it's just society. I should have seen it coming if I were being honest with myself… I knew this time would come… you falling in love, starting a family, the happy ending you deserve. You're meant to get your happy ending, Derek. I just wish I was strong enough to have guarded my heart from you. When Kevin purposed, you pushed me to marry him. That should have been my first sign to start placing the walls around my heart, but like a foolish teenage in love, I just pushed it aside and fell more in love with you each day. When I think back at our lives together all the signs point to a young foolish girl pinning after the handsome jock. This isn't a movie, not everyone gets their happy ending._

 _The girls, though I love them; used to feed me happy endings with you all the time. That might be why I never could love a man with my whole heart… I was always waiting on you. Foolish me, I was always the one who started our flirty banter, from the names to the explicit things I would say I wanted to do to you. Only once it was started by you when you told me to 'looks up Sexy and God in the dictionary'. I just pushed more and more for that type of interaction with you, when the most you would ever do is call me Baby Girl._

 _As I sit in this hotel room, I can't help but wonder what could have been different? The Jock and the Nerd don't become friends, it's just the way of the world, I'm okay with that. I have to be. The past month or so I made you believe Sam and I were still together. I didn't want the pity looks of "Oh poor Garcia, she failed again" so I told no one and acted like everything was fine._

 _Each day hearing your stories about the night before slowly started to kill me; I needed to make a change for myself. My heart needed to start to heal… Hell, 10 years of loving someone will probably take a while to get over, but I have to try. I probably never will though. My only hope is that I learn to live without you in my life. It's the only thing I can do to survive._

 _By the time you get this letter I will already be gone. Yes, the team knows and I forced them to keep it from you until I could get all my affairs in order. Please don't be mad at them, don't be upset, I made them keep their silence. I know that I will soon become a distant memory for you. Remember the good times, the movie nights, late night phone calls, the dancing and joking. The times we spent together are the happiest moments of my life._

 _I love you Derek Morgan, more than a woman should love a man that's heart doesn't belong to her. I am writing this to say Goodbye; I wish you all the luck in the world. Don't push people away. Keep the ones you love close to you._

 _I am going to leave you with a lyric for a song called Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy. It might help explain what I might not have been able to say here._

 _I cannot go to the ocean  
I cannot drive the streets at night  
I cannot wake up in the morning  
Without you on my mind_

So you're gone and I'm haunted  
And I bet you are just fine  
Did I make it that easy to walk  
Right in and out of my life?

Goodbye, my almost lover  
Goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
Why can't you just let me be?

So long, my luckless romance  
My back is turned on you  
Should've known you'd bring me heartache  
Almost lovers always do

 _I love you Derek Morgan. I will always love you._

 _Love always,_

 _Penelope_

She printed out the letter and whipped the tears from her eyes. She knew she was being a cowered for not facing him. The team had told her to just " _Talk it out with him. You might be surprised at what you find out."_ She knew better, even if he tried to make her stay, it would just be out of comfort nothing more. He would eventually go off with Savanna and leave her broken hearted.

Her checkout time was approaching. She kissed and folded the letter and made her way to the lobby. She placed it in the outgoing mail and made her way to the airport.

 **AN: I do not own anything about CM or the song Almost Lover by A Fine Frenzy. I am still working on "Finding Home" but this would not leave my mind all day so I needed to get it out. The next chapters will go back to her telling the team and their reactions to Derek getting the letter. Let me know what you all are thinking. Thank you for the support.**


	2. Chapter 2

She sat at the terminal with a coffee in hand. She watched the people pass her by, some running to catch their flights, some parents trying to control their children, and let's not forget the happy couples walking around holding hands. She let out a sigh. Her flight to Las Vegas will be departing in 1 hour. She pulled out her new phone and searched for the number.

 _Hey Boss man, Oh wait… I guess not Boss man anymore. Anyway, I just got to the gate. The letter was placed in the mailbox this morning. Please tell Jackers I can't wait to see him when you guys come out in May. I promise I will call once I land. Thank you for everything. You are a true friend. Tell everyone to keep their special phones on them. Love you, Always. PG_

She took a sip of her coffee and went to put her phone down when it went off. **_Hey Penelope, I will tell Jack tonight when I see him. This will always be your home, and us your family. Please call me as soon as you land. I know Reid appreciates all you are going to be doing for him. We will see you soon.- Forever Boss man._**

"Flight 107 to Las Vegas, now boarding." She got up from her seat and took her bag in hand. She turned and looked out the window. "Well it's been fun…" She handed her ticket to the agent and found her seat. It was a 3 and half hour flight so she had a lot of time to relax. She placed her carry on above her. She was glad she had a window seat. She placed her IPhone on shuffle, while she thought back to 3 weeks ago.

" _Hey Hotch, do you have a minute?" Hotch looked up from his desk and motioned for her to take a seat. "What can I do for you, Garcia?"_

 _She looked down at her now shaking hands. "I need to request a transfer for as soon as possible. I already spoke to the Director this morning. There is a position in the Las Vegas field office working with unsolved crimes. It's already a done deal, I just need you to okay this paperwork I have." She stood up from her seat not meeting his eyes and handed him the transfer slip. At first Hotch didn't say anything he just watched her movements as she went to sit back down. "This has to do with Morgan doesn't it?" She finally looked up to meet his gaze. She couldn't hold them back anymore, the tears started to fall._

 _"I can't do it anymore, Sir. I sit here everyday and pretend that I am okay with everything, but I'm not. I'm breaking. It has gotten to the point of not wanting to come into the office in fear of that today might be the day he announces his engagement. I don't even want to go to bed anymore, because I know I will have to wake up and come in." She looked back down at her shaking hands._

 _Hotch got up from his desk, went over to his window and shut the blinds. He then made his way over to the couch to sit right next to her. "I'm not going to tell you not to go, but I think you owe it to yourself to tell him. You might be surprised." He watched her try to gain enough composure to answer him. "It doesn't work that way. This isn't a movie; I think if I were to tell him and then see the rejection in his eyes it would be the undoing of me. It has to be this way. I plan on telling the team, just not Derek. He is going on vacation with Savanna the week I am set to leave so it works out perfect. I know today he is teaching self defense classes, so I would like to talk to everyone else all at once if I can?"_

 _Hotch just walked out of the room leaving her there sitting. About 5 minutes later he came back. "Everyone is at the round table, let's go, Penelope."_

 _She walked into the room with her head down. Once everyone was settled Hotch made the move to close the door. "Hey Guys, Penelope needs to talk to all of you. I am going to ask for you to not say anything until she is done. Go ahead, Penelope." Hotch went to take a seat next to Rossi._

 _Penelope finally looked up from her feet. There was a gasp heard from JJ, "Garcia, are you okay?" She went to stand up and hug her but Hotch stopped her._

 _"No JJ, I can honestly say I am so far from okay that I can no longer see straight. I am just going to come out and say it, but I need you all to swear to me from this moment on that none of this will ever be spoken to Morgan. If you are not willing to do that, I need you to leave this room right now." She waited a moment to see if anyone would get up. When no one did she took a deep breath._

 _"I am transferring to the Las Vegas office in three weeks. I talked to the Director this morning and was offered a job in their unsolved crimes division. They need a tech that can dig through anything. Guess that's me" She smiled before going on. "You are all my family and will continue to be just that. I plan on staying in contact with all of you, as long as you keep all communication about me from Morgan. I have set up new cells phones for each of you. These phones will be your sole communication with me." She grabbed the box and handed everyone a new phone. "I would like you to keep them on you, but you don't have to. I have also set up two trust funds in Jack and Henrys names. I want them to still be a part of my life."_

 _She walked over to Reid and placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you will allow me, I would love to spend as much time as I can with your mom? You don' t have to allow it, but I thought that with you here I can help out whenever you need it there."_

 _Reid placed his hand on top of hers, "This is because you're in love with him isn't it?" She just turned and looked out the window. A small tear escaped from her eye, "I'm sorry if you can't accept that, but yes; this is all because of Derek. My heart can't take it anymore. I can't sit by and wait for him to get his happy ending while I sit on the sidelines looking in." She walked to the front of the room. "I have been in love with him for such a long time. I thought I could handle him in love, but…" she couldn't even say it. "My heart needs to heal, and I can't do that here. I thought it was bad when I would watch him leave with women from the bar, but this is way worse. I love you all so much, you are my family and I'm hoping that you being my family, will understand why I have to do this. I wish there was another way, but there isn't"_

 _The room was quite for a while. Rossi stood up and walked over to her, "I see you have put a lot of thought into this. I support you, I don't like it, but I understand. I have lost every woman I have ever loved. I hope you will let us come and visit you." He gave her a hug and a sad smile._

 _"Of course my Italian Stallion, I would love to have all of you visit as much as you can. When I talked to the Director this morning he also told me that from time to time I would be contacted by you or B Team to help with a search if your tech can't cut it… Now, that's not to say use me all the time, but I'm still here."_

 _Reid looked over at her, "I would like nothing more than for you to be there for my mom when I can't. This just means I have more of a reason to go and visit her because I can visit you too."_

 _JJ was the last to speak up, "I can't say I agree with this, I think you should talk to him. He is going to flip when he finds you are gone, and without even telling him. Garcia, that's not you."_

 _"I understand you are angry with me JJ, you are not the only one… I could kick myself for not protecting my heart from ever loving him. He's happy, happier than I could have ever made him. His life is good right now, I can't mess that up for him. You are right though, I will tell him. I plan on writing him a letter explaining everything the night before my flight leaves."_

 _"Your flight? Wow, there is no talking you out of this is there?" JJ's tense posture finally subsided._

 _"I'm sorry Sweetie, not this time. I need to learn how to live without him. I can't be here with Savanna living the life I always wanted and do that. She deserves her happy ending just as much as he does. She is so smart and wonderful, their kids are going to be the talk of the town." With that she let another tear fall._

 _JJ walked over and hugged her "I love you, you're my sister." She smiled at her "Will, Henry, and I will be out in May to see you."_

 _Hotch spoke up next "That goes for Jack and I. We will come see you in May when we have our down time." With that Rossi suggested they all go and see her. Reid just nodded; He planned on seeing his mother in May anyway, now he just had more of reason to go._

 _The next three weeks went by fast. All their free time was spent at Garcia's apartment packing everything up. The small group of people became very close the last couple of days. They would find themselves drinking and telling stories._

 _Everyone worked really hard to keep everything the same at work. Whenever Morgan wanted to do something, Hotch would come up with paper work that needed to be done or meetings that needed to be attended._

 _On the last night she declined the offer to stay with Hotch, Reid, JJ or Rossi. She knew what she needed to do. She had put off writing that letter for three weeks. She sat in the hotel room alone letting her tears fall for all the pain she was feeling._

"Alright folks, we will be making our decent in 20 minuets." She placed her tray table back up and gathered all of her belongings. She was excited to see her new home. Rossi helped her find a house to rent instead of an apartment.

The plane landed and she walked off into her new life. A life without Derek Morgan.


	3. Chapter 3

Everyone walked into the BAU in a melancholy mood. Today would be their first day without their bubbly tech. Unfortunately for them; Kevin Lynch was named her predecessor. Hotch walked past her office to his and felt a pang in his heart. He wished there was a way he could fix her broken heart, but he knew what she was going through. After Hailey he never thought he would love again.

"Hotch man, what is up with everyone's mood?" Hotch spun around to see Morgan walking in.

"Morgan, what are you doing here? I thought you and Savanna wouldn't be back for another four days?" He walked towards his agent.

"Yeah, well that didn't work out so well. Savanna had an emergency at the hospital so we cut everything short. So tell me what is up with everyone? You all are acting like someone died." He followed Hotch into his office. Hotch normally would know how to handle every situation, this one he wasn't so sure. He went to open his mouth when his other phone went off. He laughed at the ringtone she set for him, _Big Boss Man from the Greatful Dead._ He ignored Morgan's questing look and went to answer the phone. He turned his back to his agent hoping he would get the hint to leave.

"Hey, did you make it safe and sound?" There was a short pause "I'm glad he was able to find you an _uber_ awesome house. Remember our agreement, no matter what time, you need me you call." Another short pause "Well, it's not the same, that's for sure. Take care okay. Yes, I will have him call you." He hung up the phone hopping his agent was gone. Instead he was just looking cockeyed at him.

"Morgan, you need to go home. There is a letter in the mailbox for you. Once you get it, you can call me." Morgan just looked at him like he had two heads. "What is going on?"

Hotch sighed knowing his agent was not going to leave. "Penelope left Morgan" He held up his hand to silence him "I am not going to go into anything with you until you read the letter she wrote."

Morgan stood there feeling like the wind had been knocked out of him. This couldn't be happening. Not his Baby Girl, she wouldn't do that to him, would she? He knew they didn't talk that much but he thought she was just working on her relationship with Sam. Maybe she left with Sam? No she wouldn't have done that to him, not without him knowing. He jumped up and raced to her office.

It was gone it was all gone. Her fuzzy pens, her toys, her pictures. They were all gone. He started to feel the walls closing in on him. He swung around when he heard the door move, he was expecting her to walk in and just say "Gotcha". He was faced with Kevin Lynch walking into the room.

"What are you doing here, Lynch?" Lynch just moved around him and placed his bag on the ground. "I can ask you the same thing seeing as you are in my office." Morgan couldn't take it anymore. He ran back into the bullpen almost knocking over JJ. "What is going on? Please someone talk to me?"

Reid took a deep breath. "Did you get the letter?" Morgan snapped his head around to look at him "Why do you all keep talking about a letter? Why won't anyone just give me a straight answer?" Rossi walked over to him and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Come on Morgan I'm going to drive you home" That's when Morgan just became a shell of himself. He let Rossi guide him out of the building.

"Hoth called me after you left his office. He wanted me to run by the hotel and grab the letter for you. You weren't expected back today so I made sure to go and get it. Before I give you this letter I want to make it clear to you that we all tried to stop her, but she needed saving, saving from herself. You might want to take the next four days off. If you need to talk call me or Hotch."

With that he walked Morgan to his front door. He went to hand him the letter when he spoke one last thing, "Take this letter read it, reread it, and then read it again. There is still time… Don't let love slip you by. Trust me, I should have never let my first wife go." He handed him the letter and walked back to his car.

Morgan just stood there watching him leave. His hands were shaking. He was glad Savanna wasn't home. He made his way inside; he put the letter on the kitchen table and just stared at it. He knew no matter what was in there it was goodbye. He could feel it. He didn't think he could handle that. He went to the fridge and took out a beer. He downed it and went for a shot glass, he poured himself a shot and downed that too.

"Okay Baby Girl, I'm ready to listen" He walked over to the letter and picked it up.

AN: I don't own the ringtone I used called Big Boss Man from the Grateful Dead. I hope you all like this story.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day Derek stormed into the BAU. "All of you… Round table now!"

Everyone just looked around at one another. Rossi walked out of his office and looked over at the group, "The shit's about to hit the fan." Hotch added "I guess he read the letter?"

The group made their way into the room while watching Morgan pace back and forth. Once everyone was seated he went over to the door and closed it.

"You all knew about this and didn't tell me? I thought you were my friends… wait, I thought you were my family?!" Rossi stood up and moved over to Morgan was "Son, she asked us not to tell you. We had to respect her wishes."

Morgan just looked at the older agent like he had lost his mind. "So you're gonna tell me because my best friend asked you not to let me know about her decision I just need to be okay with that? And she told you all that she was in love with me?" He looked over at Reid, "Reid, I thought you always had my back? How could you not say anything?"

Reid went to defend himself when Hotch spoke up. "That's enough Morgan! There's no need to take out your frustration and anger out on us. It's not our fault you never saw what was right in front of you. I understand that you probably have never had your heart broken, and I'm guessing you've never loved as deeply as Garcia loved you, but you don't get to judge her or us for our actions." Morgan just looked at his boss. "She couldn't live the lie that she was living here. She needed to move on without you."

Just then Rossi's phone went off with _I Get a Kick Out of You by Frank Sinatra._ Morgan had a feeling Garcia must have given them new phones with ringtones programmed into them. The same thing happened with Hotch's phone yesterday. Rossi went to leave and answer it, but Morgan blocked his way. He didn't want to ignore the call so he answered it.

"Hey Kitten before you say anything, you're going to have to call me back later. Morgan got the letter and well…" Before he could say anything else Morgan grabbed the phone from his hand.

"Garcia? Garcia? Baby Girl…" then he looked at the phone. "She hung up…"He handed the phone back over to Rossi, "Get her back on the phone now."

"No can do Morgan, It doesn't work that way. She calls us." Rossi just sat back down and waited for the next explosion.

"Okay, so you're telling me that she left because she was so in love with me she couldn't do it anymore? You all knew about it for God knows how long and kept it from me? And none of you will tell me where she is? What a great group of friends you turned out to be." With that he walked out of the room.

"That actually went better than I thought it was going to." JJ said to the room. "You know the saying _you never know what you really had until its gone_."

Reid just observed the interaction. Last night she called him and they talked for hours. First it was about her new house and all the decorating she was planning, then it was about things to do in her free time, and times she could go see his mother. After about two hours she broke down crying. She had only admitted to the team her true feelings for Derek a couple of weeks ago. Before that she had no one to vent to. She always just bottled it all away. He just let her get everything out. When she finally fell asleep he went online and booked a flight for this coming weekend. Yes, she needed to get away to heal her heart, but as her family he needed to be there for her.

Reid left the room to go find Morgan. He knew where to look. When things got too much for him and he couldn't work it out at the gym he would end up on the roof. Once Reid made it up there he saw Morgan sitting on the floor looking at the letter. He made his way over to him and sat down.

They sat there in silence until Morgan finally spoke, "I never knew she loved me like this? Hell, I didn't even know this love existed." He looked over at him "Please Reid, you have to tell me where she is. I just need to talk to her. I need to tell her I'm sorry about flaunting Savanna in front of her. I would have kept all of that stuff to myself if I had known."

Reid moved to get up. Did he really just say what I think he said? Not that he would confess his love for her or that he would have never gotten with Savanna? No, he would have just not told her about it. He had come up here to gauge his response and possibly hint at where she was. Now he knew better. Penelope was right to leave. His thoughts went to her crying over the phone last night wishing that everything could have been different.

"I'm sorry Morgan, this time I can't help you. What you need to do it go back home to Savanna. Relax and take a few days off. Hotch said we're on stand down this weekend so why don't you go to one of your properties." He made his way back to the building. He looked back one more time at the broken man sitting on the floor. He shook his head, either Morgan really didn't love her like they thought he did or he was once again going to hide.

AN: I don't own _I Get a Kick Out of You by Frank Sinatra_ or _Criminal Minds._ I hope you like the story. I have two more chapters done. I'll post them soon.


	5. Chapter 5

Reid was headed to the airport to catch his flight when he was surprised to see Morgan's SUV pull up. No one had heard from him for two days. "What can I do for you Morgan? I'm running a little late and need to get going." Morgan just watched him as he went to the cab parked out front.

"Where are you going? Let me drive you so you don't have to waste money." Morgan started walking over to him to grab his bag.

"It's no big deal Morgan I am going to visit my Mother. I haven't seen her in a while and I thought it would be a good time to go." Morgan walked over to the cab driver and told him his services were no longer needed. Reid rolled his eyes and decided to pacify him and let him drive.

"My flight leaves in a hour and half so we better go." Morgan just nodded and got into the car.

About 5 minuets into the drive Morgan spoke up. "Did you know Savanna and I were having problems? We both work so much so we never saw each other. Whenever we're in town she'd need to be at the hospital or when she was off call I'd be out of town on a case. During our vacation she decided she would rather go back into work than to spend time with me."

Reid just looked over at his friend. He was trying to gauge if Morgan was telling him this information to get him to say something about Penelope or if he just really needed someone to talk too. "I'm sorry to hear that. Not all relationships can stand the test of time. Especially with our line of work, look at Rossi and his three ex wives."

The silence in the car became very thick, "Did you also know that Penelope was the longest female relationship I've ever had other than my own sisters and mother? I've been doing a lot of thinking the past couple of days. I think it's real unfair of her to just take off like she did. Makes me wonder if we were ever friends to begin with."

That was the last straw for Reid. "You know what Morgan? She is the best Goddamn friend you've ever had or will have. Let me break this down for you. For years, and I mean years, she was always there for you. If we had a rough case you were sure to end up with her so she could make you feel better. She would do whatever it took to put you back together and what did she get out of it? Nothing. In my opinion you used her for the emotional aspect of a relationship. You'd use up all her comfort and healing then the next night leave her sitting at the bar while she watched you leave with a someone for the physical healing. If I were her; I would have cut you out of my life a hell of a lot sooner. You have no right to say anything about the type of friend she was to you. If you want to be like that can we also mention what an asshole you were to her? What type of friend were you to her, Morgan? I remember a couple of months ago when she really needed you because she was dealing with Greg Baylor being executed. She begged you to have her back. You know what you did? You blew her off. You wouldn't even give her the time of day when she needed you. So you tell me Morgan what type of friend were you to her?" With that he got out of the car and made his way into the airport.

Morgan just sat there in the departures lane. He was right, Penelope was a better friend than he ever deserved. She always new exactly what to say or do to heal him. He was a jackass and now he was loosing the most important thing in his life.

* * *

It was a quick flight into Las Vegas. When he made his way out to arrivals he was greeted by Penelope and her Caddy Ester. "JuniorG-man, tell me my car doesn't belong here? It's like Ester was made for Sin City!" Reid threw his bag into the back seat and jumped into the car. "Do you want to see your mom or go by the house first?" He looked over at her. She seemed so much lighter, her spirit was happier here.

"Lets go by your place. I want to see what Rossi got set up for you." She nodded and pulled out of the airport. About 25 minuets later they were pulling up to a house that screamed Garcia. "Don't Judge the house yet, I'm still trying to get everything together. It's huge on the inside, Reid and I'm only paying what I paid for back home. Rossi said he wanted to make sure there'd be enough bedrooms for everyone if you all came at the same time. So I decided I'm going to make everyone their own rooms and tailor it them." She smiled wide at him.

"Let me show you around" She took his hand and led him into the house. After the tour they sat down at the island in the kitchen. "I'm pretty sure Rossi is paying for half of this. I'm not gonna complain about it though, I'm loving it here." She grabbed some ice tea from the fridge and poured them both a glass. "I made a new friend at work yesterday his name is Randy Williams. He works with me in the Unsolved Crimes Division."

"That's great Pen! You look so much happier here. I'm sad you don't live as close, but I'm glad you're doing better."

"I want to thank you, Spencer. The other night I finally let everything go that I'd kept inside for years. And you being the person you are booked a flight to come see me. I might have been wrong all these years, you're the true hero of the group."

Reid just drank some of the tea and smiled. "So what do you want to do? You've got me for four days I don't fly back until Monday night. Do you want to take in the sights, see a show?"

"You know what Spencer, I'd like to finish getting stuff set up around the house, watch a movie or two then go see your mom. How does that sound?"

"I think that sounds like a plan, P. I'm glad you'll be close to my Mom. It makes me feel more relaxed, I trust you with her. Wanna go shopping for the house?" She nodded her head with a smile.

With that they both got up and made their way over to her car, "Boy Wonder, catch!" she threw her keys at him, "You might as well drive while you're here" He smiled as he caught the keys. "Let's go, Pen!"


	6. Chapter 6

Two weeks had past and everyone was slowly becoming more at ease with the situation. Reid still harbored some anger towards Morgan, but he was able to put his feelings aside to work. Morgan on the other hand was extremely standoffish at first. In the beginning he was angry with his team-his so called family- but after Reid's outburst he slowly realized they were Penelope's family too. If he was being honest with himself, he was a horrible friend to her. This whole situation was consuming his thoughts. He realized he did indeed use Penelope for emotional support. Once he had a serious girlfriend he just threw Penelope away. He didn't even try to hide the fact he didn't need her, he had Savanna for it all.

Penelope always welcomed him with open arms. He couldn't begin to count the number of times he would show up at her front door at all hours of the night for comfort. Looking back he can't say he did the same for her. The one time she asked him to have her back he just refused and called her crazy. Reid was right, if anyone was a horrible friend in this relationship, it was him.

What pained him, was no one would tell him how she was doing. He couldn't get away from the hurt even if he tried. It hadn't gone unnoticed that Reid was called the most. He had to admit the ringtones chosen for each person made him laugh, they were definitely Penelope. Reid had _She Blinded Me with Science by Thomas Dolby_. That song seemed to constantly be playing. When it would go off, if he wasn't in the middle of something he would excuse himself to go talk to her. Same went for the rest of the team. By now he knew exactly what ringtone belonged to what person, from Hotch's _Big Boss Man_ to JJ's _Glamorous_ from _Fergie._

Morgan walked into the bullpen when he heard _She Blinded Me with Science._ Reid was talking to Hotch and Rossi when it went off. Both men made the motion for him to take the call. So, Reid excused himself and walked into the round table room.

Morgan stood back watching Reid pace as he talked to Penelope. No one was paying attention to him so he decided to get a little closer to hear the conversation. Reid had his back turned to the door so he decided to lean against the frame and listen.

"No Pen, you got it wrong, I'm the one that owes you. I know she appreciates all you're doing for her, just like I do." There was long pause, "So you put that _Doctor Who_ stuff in my room? That's great! I know Jack's gonna love the toys you got for him for the kid room. Maybe I can come out soon so we can finish everything together." Another pause. "Don't worry about last night, when you're upset like that you call, no matter what time it is." When he turned around he saw Morgan. "Hey I got to go, call me later," he hung up the phone. He shifted on his feet, uncomfortably.

"So that was Penelope? Why was she upset last night?" Morgan pushed himself off the doorframe and walked into he room.

"It's nothing Morgan, I need to go." Reid went to walk past him but he blocked his way.

"I miss her, Reid. I think about her every chance I get, even when I don't want to, I think about her." His posture became deflated. "You were right at the airport. I was a horrible friend to her. I used her for emotional support and when she needed me, I wasn't willing to do the same. In spite of the way I treated her, she still loved me. She loved me Reid, she loved me in a way I didn't even know existed. I can't believe I was so blind."

Reid saw the broken man in front of him. "I don't know what you want me to tell you? I might not be well versed in love but I get why she left. She's happy now. She no longer feels like she's living a lie. She's making friends and enjoying her new life." He placed a hand on Morgan's shoulder trying to comfort him, "You don't need to worry or protect her anymore."

"If she is so happy, why'd she call you upset last night? You think I didn't hear you?" Morgan's anger started to rise.

Reid instantly put his defenses back up. "Morgan, even if she was upset it doesn't concern you anymore." With that he walked out of the room leaving Morgan behind.

* * *

"Hey Pen, how's the film footage going?" Randy leaned on the doorframe of her office.

She smiled up at him glad for the company "Well Stud Muffin, wouldn't you like to know?... Oh wait, you probably do want to know." She shook her head laughing. "It's going, I was able to pull some images. My programs are cleaning them up now."

He walked over to sit next to her, "Thanks, I'll let Dan know. So how does it feel to work normal cases?"

Penelope turned her chair to talk with him. He was an extremely handsome man, tall about 6'2, shaggy brown hair with blue eyes. His skin was tan from spending his free time outdoors.

"Not normal, but different. Everything is so relaxed here. I'm used to a crazy house with fast responses. It's also different having a team of just Dan, You, and I. I don't miss the crazy hours, that for sure. Now when I make plans I get to keep them." She smiled at him. "I can't really complain you and Dan have been so welcoming to me."

"It's been my pleasure, Penelope. You've been such an asset to us, you're old team must be hurting without you." He placed his hand on top of hers. "So I was thinking of having a cookout on Saturday. I'm gonna invite some of the other teams. Do you wanna come?"

"Sure Randy, just let me know where." He let go her hand and made his way out of the room with a smile. She turned back to her desk, grabbed her phone to call JJ.

"JJ! The love of my life! How's everything going?" Penelope began to work on her computer.

 _"Everything's going well. We all miss you like crazy. Lynch is not you, that's for sure! Henry misses his Godmother."_

"Oh Sweetie, that's so nice of you to say. No one is as good as the Oracle and tell that little man his Aunt P loves him."

 _"That's the truth! So anything exciting happening? You're still at work, right?"_

"Yeah I'm just cleaning up footage from a homicide from about twenty years ago. I was working on something else this morning, but they brought me this and said it's a priority. Anyway, I was asked to go to a cookout on Saturday." She was quiet for a second. "Randy asked me, I told you about him. I mean he is asking other people in the office and I'm here to heal my heart not just transfer the pain to someone else right?" She realized she was talking super fast.

"I just want to be happy JJ. I want to be able to sleep through the night and not dream of him. I want to be free." She laughed, "Poor Boy Wonder, he gets more calls from me than anyone."

 _"Penelope, you know you can always call me. I'm here for you."_

"I know, it's just you have Henry and I don't want to bug you that late at night. Anyway, I'm excited for the cookout. I'm finally making friends here, but don't worry they'll never replace you guys. I hope you can come out soon. I miss you so much."

JJ sighed. Penelope was being so strong, she hadn't asked once about Derek. She was trying to move on from that part of her life. " _I know Sweetie, I'll try to come soon."_ She was about to say something else when her BAU phone went off " _We got a case Pen, I got to go. Love you, Have fun with Randy."_ JJ disconnected the call before she could say anything.

She grabbed her go bag and headed to the office.

 **At the BAU**

Everyone was complaining while they made their way into room. "Why are we here so late?" Rossi said, making his way over to his seat, "I was entertaining a good friend."

"I'm sure you were, Rossi." Morgan said when he walked in after him "I on the other hand am glad we got called in… gives me something to do." Rossi looked over at him "Savanna working late?" Morgan stilled, before he could answer Lynch walked in.

"Okay guys, there have been four murders in Las Vegas." Everyone froze but Morgan "So what's going on, Lynch?"

Lynch continued to go over the case information while Rossi surveyed the team. "The Las Vegas Field office requested you personally. That's the reason for the late call. Seems that two of the murders have the same exact MO as two unsolved cases from twenty years ago."

JJ paled "Did you say twenty years ago?" Lynch looked over at her "Yes, twenty years ago. They have their tech cleaning up old footage from a security camera. It's not good quality though, so who knows what they'll be able to get off of it. I offered to take a look but they insisted they didn't need it."

Hotch cleared his throat. "I need to make some phone calls before we leave. Wheels up in an hour" with that he walked out of the room taking his phone out.

Rossi looked at the team "Hey Morgan, can you go with Lynch to get old files or see if you can find anything about the old cases. I know the evidence will be at the Las Vegas office, but you guys might be able to pull something up while we wait."

"Sure" both men walked.

Once he saw Morgan and Lynch were gone Hotch made his way back into the room closing the door. JJ spoke first. "Garcia's working on this case… I was just talking to her before we were called in. They were having her clean up footage from a murder twenty years ago." JJ started to panic.

"I know, I just got off the phone with the Director. He thought it'd be best if we worked on this case with their Unsolved Crimes Division. Garcia doesn't know yet, I left a message with her boss to have her call me. She's the tech assigned to the case so we won't be using Lynch. I want all communication to only go through JJ or myself when requesting a search. Morgan never calls Lynch now, so it shouldn't be an issue. We need to keep them apart at all times." He looked over at team, "When she calls me, she sounds so much happier. I don't want to disturb what she's accomplished already."

Rossi stood up "I agree, I spoke to her yesterday morning. We can't let this situation affect her. Oh, by the way, I'm gonna stay with her. She was telling me how my room is almost done."

Reid spoke up next "She is guys, when I saw her, she was a different person. She seemed like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. The only time she struggled was at night." He looked away from the group embarrassed, "She let me read to her until she fell asleep." He looked back, "I'm going to stay with her, too. I'll say I'm staying with my Mom. I have to stay with her, she's gonna need the support."

"We all want to stay with Penelope, but that's not an option. Morgan would know something is up." JJ looked at her boss "Fine, I'll stay at the hotel with you and Morgan. Reid always stays with his Mom and Rossi has contacts everywhere, so he won't think anything of it; however, I'm gonna stay a few extra days when the case is over so I can spend time with her."

Rossi nodded "Maybe we can work something out to send Morgan back and we can all stay a couple of extra days to be with her," He looked over at Hotch, "I'll think of something." They walked out of the room to find Morgan and make their way to the jet.

 **AN: I don't own any of the songs used** ** _Blinded Me with Science by Thomas Dolby, Big Boss Man by the_** **Grateful Dead or** ** _Glamorous by Fergie or Doctor Who. I hope you enjoy the story._** **Thank you for all the feedback. I like hearing what you think or want to happen next.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Don't worry the alienating of Morgan will soon stop. I promise it will be getting better soon; he's going to have an ally.**

On the jet the team began discussing the case. In the middle of Hotch explaining some details, _Big Boss Man_ rang out _._ He knew he needed to answer the call, but right now was not the time. He looked over at Rossi and nodded. Rossi took the phone and headed to the back of the plane for as much privacy as possible. Hotch continued where he left off but noticed Morgan straining to hear Rossi.

"Morgan, Pay attention! I won't ask you again." Morgan shifted in his seat and looked back at the case file. "Sorry, it won't happen again."

 **Back of Plane**

"It'll be okay, Kitten. We already discussed it before we left."

Garcia was in a panic. " _This can't be happening. I can't do this, Dave. I can't see him again, I'm still so in love with him. Rossi, I'm not strong enough."_

Rossi sighed, "Trust me, we worked this out before we left. Hotch plans on talking to your boss as soon as we get in. Look at the bright side Bella, Reid and I get to stay with you. Everything is going to work out. I'll see you soon."

He hung up the phone and prayed his words were true. Maybe this was a blessing. He made his way back to the front of the plane to join the group. Once he was seated Hotch looked over at him "Its settled Aaron," Hotch nodded and continued to talk to his team.

* * *

Penelope was in a panic; she didn't know what to do. She was running around like crazy trying to gain her composer. "Whoa, Babe. Are you okay?" she spun around to see Randy walking towards her, " Yes, No, I don't know."

"Come on Pen, let's go get some coffee so you can relax. Looks like you need it."

She nodded and followed him to the café off the main lobby. Once they had their drinks they found a table "What's wrong? Are you just excited to be working an active case again? Dan was saying you'd be the lead tech." He reached out and grabbed her hand and started to rub circles with his thumb. At first she appreciated the comfort, but then remembered she can't go down the same path. She pulled her hand away and placed it in her lap.

"I guess. I don't really know how I feel about it." She took a sip of her drink. She wanted to change the subject to try and control her nerves "Thanks for the coffee. Are you all set up for the cookout? I haven't been to one in ages, so I'm looking forward to the experience."

"Yeah, I'm glad you're coming." He looked down at his watch, "You ready to head back upstairs? The other team will be here any minute." They made their way out of the café and into the main lobby.

That's when she heard it, she'd never mistake that sound. She turned to see her old team walking in. They were about to head over to security and get checked in. Where she stood they wouldn't be able to see her. She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. Seeing him again brought back everything she was trying to forget.

"Penelope, are you okay?" Randy took her hand. She needed to get away and fast. "Yeah," She started walking to the stairs, turning to Randy, "I need the exercise Stud Muffin, lets go up the stairs," Randy pushed the door open for her "Sure Babe, let's go. I'll race ya!"

She started running up the stairs. She knew stairs and heels didn't mix but she needed to get away. She was almost at the top when her foot caught. Randy wasn't able to catch her in time. She tumbled backwards down about five steps. "Fuck that hurt!"

"Oh my God! Penelope, are you okay?" He ran over to her and lifted her into his arms. He carried her up the flight to the landing. "Can you walk? Are you okay? Let me take you to the hospital."

"Randy, I'm fine. I didn't even tumble down the full flight. I only fell down a few steps. I'll have a bruise but I'll be fine but now I need to go home and change." She looked down at her clothes that were now a mess.

He grabbed her hand to lead her out of the stairwell and to the elevator. "I'll take you home let me just call Dan and tell him we'll be back soon," he called Dan and explained the situation.

She took out her phone to send Hotch a message. She knew once they heard he would send someone to look after her.

"Come one Babe, lets get you home and changed." She was glad to see her old team was nowhere to be found when they made back to the lobby.

* * *

The team made their way into the field office. Morgan was giving Reid a hard time about being back in his hometown and staying with his mother.

"Yeah but Pretty Boy you sleep on a cot. That can't be good for a growing boy like yourself." he said with a laugh.

"Whatever Morgan! At least I don't have to deal with your crazy early morning exercise routine. I don't know how anyone even rooms with you?"

"It's how I keep the ladies happy." He looked over to the security area. His mind must have been playing tricks on him, for a second he thought he saw Penelope. When he looked back there was no one there. Wow, he was really starting to lose it. He needed to figure out a way to get more information on where she was. He needed to see her, talk to her, hold her again. He needed her.

Once the reached the 4th floor, Dan Roberts greeted them. Dan was the head of the Unsolved Crimes Division or UCD. "Agent Hotcher, I presume?" He said holding out his hand to greet him.

"Yes, we're glad you called us in to help. These are my agents, Morgan, Rossi, Jereau, and Dr. Reid."

"Nice to meet you all. If you would follow me, I'll take you over to where we have everything set up." They walked into a room that was divided into two set ups. On one side it had the recent murders the other had everything from the old cases. "I apologize but Agent Randy Williams just phoned, apparently our tech decided she wanted to run up the stairs and fell. She needed to change, so he's running her home. He'll be back soon."

"Is she alright?" JJ said in a worried tone. "Oh yeah she's fine. Randy said she wanted to race him up the stairs... why she wanted to do that I have no idea? She's different but we love her." Dan said rolling his eyes. "She hasn't been here long but she's the best we've ever had." Hotch hadn't had time to talk to Dan about keeping Penelope out the case as mush as possible so he wanted to switch the conversation back to the case.

Just then his phone went off. He took a look at it and motioned to Dan. "Agent Roberts, may I speak with you in private?"

"Please call me Dan, everyone else does. We tend to go by first names here. We can head over to my office."

Hotch followed behind him, while he forwarded the text to Rossi, Reid and JJ.

Rossi pulled out his phone. _Forever Boss man, I'm fine. I saw the team walk in when I was at the cafe with Randy and I panicked. I decided to run up the stairs before anyone saw me; I guess I missed a step. Randy's taking me home to change. My office is the last one on the right at the end of the hall. I'll be in there later today. I'll see you when I get back. Tell Reid I made him a key and it's in my office. He'll know where it is. I'm glad I get to see you guys. Love always PG_

Rossi sent a quick text to Reid. _Why is it that you get a key and I don't? I'm paying for half the place._

Reid looked down at his phone "I knew you were! Oh I can't wait to tell her."

Morgan cleared his throat. "Now if you guys don't mind putting your phones down, maybe we can get to work. I'm getting real tierd of all this secret phone shit."

"Relax Morgan, don't get your panties in a twist," Morgan just glared at Rossi.

"No, he's right. Sorry for the way we've been acting Morgan. We just miss her. I know you miss her too." JJ walked over to him placing her hand on his arm when he whispered "More than you'll ever understand." He just shook his head and started to work on a preliminary profile.

A while later Hotch and Dan walked back into the room. "Can you guys get me everything you need searched by our tech? I just got off the phone with Randy. They'll be back in about 20 minuets." Dan announced to the room.

"Hotch, why aren't we using Lynch?" He looked over at Morgan. "We have to use the tech here. That was a order from the Director." Morgan looked at him puzzled but dismissed it.

* * *

"Babe, this place is awesome we should have our cookout here. It looks small from the front but it goes on forever. The first 3 rooms are bigger than my whole house!" Randy was running around her living room looking at everything. When he looked out to the back yard he said "We are definitely gonna start having our outings here" He then made his way to the kitchen "Holy shit! Look at the kitchen. Yep, it's settled we're doing everything here from now on."

"Randy, relax its just a house" She chuckled "nothing big." she said walking into the kitchen to meet him. "You're kidding me right? This place is huge. Go get changed I'll be waiting for you out here." With that she walked up the stairs to the master bedroom to changed and check out the bruise she was sure she had on her hip.

About 10 minuets later she met Randy in the living room. "Well I have a nasty bruise on my hip but it'll be fine. No rough ridding for me for a while." Randy looked up at her "Want me to kiss it and make it all better?" he said with a wink. Over the past week or so their flirting started. She was hesitant at first but she missed flirting. She knew she needed keep her heart guarded but she liked the playfulness.

"Come on Pen, I'm gonna call Dan and let him know we're on our way back."

"Sure let me just grab a drink." She walked into the kitchen.

Randy hung up the phone and called out for her. "Babe!" Randy looked at her while she walked into the room "When we get in Dan wants to talk with me and he wants you to go right into your office." She nodded and tossed him a water bottle.

Randy walked into the room they had set up earlier. He introduced himself to the agents and went over to Dan, "You needed to speak with me?" Dan nodded and motioned to head out of the room when JJ spoke up. "Excuse me Randy? How is your tech?"

He turned back with a playful smile, "She's fine, she's got a nasty bruise on her hip... I offered to kiss it and make it better." He laughed and walked out of the room with Dan.

Rossi burst out laughing while Hotch cleared his throat. "Okay Guys, I know we're all running on empty because we haven't slept in over 24 hours. Let's get the search parameters to the tech so she'll have everything ready by morning."

"Sounds good to me, Hotch." said Morgan.

Randy walked back in about an hour later. "Do you guys have what you need? I'm going to bring everything to our TA so you can head to the hotel."

Reid handed everything over to Randy. "Yeah here you go." Randy walked out of the room to bring the files to Penelope. He didn't quite understand what the deal was with keeping her away form them and not using her name, but he wasn't going to go against his bosses orders.

"Let's go to the hotel guys. Reid, you have a cab picking you up to take you to your Moms right?" Reid shook his head, "No, Rossi is going to take me." Rossi then spoke up. "Yeah Hotch, I have a friend that lives not far from here. I'm going to stay with them. I never get out here so I figured kill two birds with one stone. They'll be picking us up in about 30 minuets." Hotch just nodded "Alright then JJ, Morgan lets head out"

They were walking out to the SUV when Morgan could swear he saw Ester in the parking lot. He was really loosing it. He shook his head; he didn't need to be thinking about her. They needed to be back early in the morning. He just hoped tonight he wouldn't dream of her.

* * *

"Kitten! Its so good to see you!" Garcia turned her chair around and ran over to him, "My Italian stallion!" she gave him a squeeze. "What's this business about Reid getting a key but I don't? Who helped you get it?" Garcia bent down to grab her bag. "It's a Doctor Who themed key. When I find a themed one that fits you it's yours, I promise! Let's go home, so you can see what I've done with the place."

"Penelope, Are you okay? How is the bruise? Randy said you fell hard on your hip." She grabbed his head and kissed his cheek. "I'm fine Boy Wonder, no worries here. Now let's go."

Once they got to her place Rossi was impressed. "Bella, The gang is going to love this place. You've outdone yourself, it's definitely Garcia!"

"Thanks Dave! Come on lets get some sleep. I've missed you so much, I just need to figure out a way to see JJ and Aaron tomorrow." Rossi gave her a hug and went up to his room.

"Pen, what do you want to read tonight?"

She looked over with a sad expression. "I don't know what I'd do without you? You know when I saw him today it felt like I got kicked in the stomach; it was like the wind was knocked out of me. When I heard his voice I wanted the ground to swallow me whole. More for the fact that he was joking with you..." She walked over to her bookshelf and grabbed _Treasure Island_ handing it to him she whispered "It seems like he's doing fine."

She turned and walked up to her room. A part of him wanted to tell her how upset he was about the letter and how he's been trying to contact her, but he didn't want to ruin any progress she had already accomplished. He wanted his sister to heal. He grabbed his go bag and walked up to his room and changed. When he was done he knocked on Penelope's door.

"Come in, Spencer." She was under the covers with a pillow in her lap. "Get comfortable." He went over to the other side of the bed and sat on top of the covers. She got on her side facing him and snuggled into the pillows. The first night he read to her she insisted on him sitting next to her. Once she would fall asleep he would shut off her light and head over to his own room.

He cleared his throat "Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson chapter one..."

 **AN: I do not own Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. It gets a lot better for Morgan in the next chapter. He's really not the bad guy, I promise.**


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning there was a knock at Morgan's door. He was surprised to see JJ standing there with two coffees in hand. "Hey JJ, what can I do for you?" he moved letting her in.

"I thought you might want this," She held out the drink, "and maybe we can talk?"

He nodded as he took the drink from her.

"I feel like we've pushed all the blame of Penelope's leaving on you. Yes, you were the reason she left, but you're our family too. We should treat you better. The couple of weeks before she left the five of us became really close. It was the first time she's let anyone in one hundred percent. She talked about her parent's death, and how deep down she still feels like it's her fault. That's the reason she won't try harder to contact her brothers." She got off of the chair and sat next to him on the bed. "I know you feel like we picked sides but we didn't. When you have someone you love hurting like she was, you forget about everyone else and put all of your energy into fixing them." She took his hand, "Rossi took on the roll of her father, that's why he's so tough on you and Aaron somehow became the brother she'd always wanted."

He sat there digesting what JJ had told him for a moment before speaking, "I miss her so much, JJ. I feel like I'm drowning and I can't get my head above water. Everything around me is falling to pieces." He let his body fall back onto the bed. "I can't stop thinking about her. The off chance that I'm not thinking of her, I'm reminded when one of your phones goes off." He shifted uncomfortably, "I just want to hear her voice and make sure she's okay." He grabbed his wallet off the nightstand, "I carry the letter with me everywhere; I don't even need to look at it anymore, I know it word for word."

He put the letter back in his wallet. "That night when I left the roof I went home and drank until I passed out. Savanna came home and ordered takeout. She was short on cash so she went over to see if I had any." He looked up at the ceiling. "That's when she found the letter." He sat back up to look at JJ, "She left me, she moved everything out that weekend. You know I wasn't even upset about it. We'd been having problems so it was just a matter of time."

JJ took his hand to try and comfort him, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Do you really think I could have? I didn't feel like any of you would care." he signed, "I used to be her best friend, but now it's like Reid's taken that roll. I hear that damn ringtone all day long. JJ, I just want answers." JJ got up and started walking towards the door.

"The answers are right around the corner," she left to go meet Hotch.

* * *

The smell of breakfast woke Penelope up. She decided to quickly get ready and go investigate.

"Good morning, Kitten" Rossi stood over her island stove making pancakes.

"Dave, what are you doing? You're my guest don't you think I should be treating you?"

"Shut it Penelope; I don't get to cook for you anymore, so you're gonna have to deal with it." He placed the plate of pancakes in front of her. "How's the bruise?"

"Black and blue, it's nothing I can't work around. So do you think this new case has anything to do with the old ones?"

Reid walked into the room "Yeah, it looks like the UNSUB stayed dormant for twenty years. There's one thing that's not adding up though."

"What's that, Boy Wonder?"

"The other two murders seem like they are trying to _copy_ the MO."

Penelope put down her fork to think. "Maybe he has an apprentice and he's showing him the ropes sort of speak?"

Reid and Rossi both looked at her amazed. "You're brilliant! This is why we need you back." Rossi grabbed his phone to call Hotch.

Reid walked over and sat next to her "Did you sleep okay?"

She kissed his cheek "Yes Junior G-man, thanks to you!"

Rossi walked back into the room. "Sorry kids, we need to go, Hotch wants us back so we can talk about the theory." They both nodded.

Penelope walked over to her purse to grab her keys. "Spencer!" she tossed him an object "You know the rules, while you're here, you drive."

"Sweet! Lets go."

* * *

Penelope was in her office waiting on a call from Hotch or JJ. Two hours had past since getting in. She'd gone right to her office and shut the door. Normally she would have gone over to Randy or Dan's office, but with the possibility of running into Morgan she thought it'd be best to hide out. Right now she really needed some coffee. She thought about it and decided she'd take the chance. She pulled out her phone to send a message to Reid.

 _Boy Wonder, I know you're busy but I need coffee, like right now! I'm gonna make a run for it. I'll text you when I'm back in my office._

She ran as fast as she could down to the cafe. She kept looking over her shoulder praying she would make it. She grabbed her drink and went to walk out of the lobby when she ran right into Randy.

"Baby, I thought you were in your office?" He asked.

She started to panic so she grabbed his hand and pulled him into the stairwell.

"Why aren't you in the room with the team discussing the case?"

He looked down at her confused. "I was, we're taking a 10 minute break. Everyone wanted to clear their head and regroup with the apprentice theory. It looks really promising. I have some papers for you to go over when we get back up there."

"Oh, okay. Did anyone else come down here to get coffee?"

"That's it, Pen. What's going on? Yesterday, Dan told me no one's allowed to have contact with you and we can't mention your name. Did something bad happen?"

She moved to the steps and sat down. How could she tell him she was hiding like a coward and her old team was helping her do it? How would she even begin to explain the feelings she was trying so hard to let go?

"That's my old team. I still keep in contact with most of them but not all. Something went down and it's better for all parties if we're kept separate." It wasn't a lie; it just wasn't the whole truth.

"Did one of them hurt you? Which one, Penelope? I'll take care of it." He looked kind of panicked.

"Randy, everything's fine. Nothing was _done_ to me. I just need to have this separation and I would really appreciate it if you wouldn't question that."

Randy looked at her to gauge the situation. "Okay baby, I'm going to go grab some coffee. If anyone is bothering you please come and get me."

She agreed and watched him walk out of the stairwell. She needed to figure out a way to get back to her office without anyone noticing. She took out her phone to call Reid. When he didn't answer she called Hotch.

" _Is everything okay?"_ She heard when he answered the phone. "Yes and no. I'm not hurt or anything, but I'm stuck in the stairwell on the first floor. I'm walking up to our floor now. I ran into Randy and he said you were taking a break. I didn't know, I thought I would chance it and make a coffee run." She was panicking.

" _Penelope, calm down, everything's fine."_ He wanted say more but Morgan was in the room. He hadn't realized he'd walked back in. Now Morgan was staring at him with a worried expression. " _Trust me when I tell you this... you are fine now."_ He put emphasis on _now_ hoping she would understand to go now.

"I'm good to go right now?" He looked back over at Morgan " _Yes."_

She ran as fast as she could up the last flight praying she wouldn't fall again. She just needed to get into her office and shut the door.

* * *

Morgan started freaking out. Was she okay? What was going on? Hotch was looking at him with a strange expression. He needed to find JJ.

"I'm headed to the bathroom, Hotch. I'll be right back." With that he left the room before Hotch could stop him.

Hotch grabbed his phone and text the group. _911 Garcia is out of her office and Morgan just left the room._

He didn't see JJ in the hall, so he went over to the bathroom. When he walked out he scanned the hall again looking for her when he caught sight of a blonde running and slamming a door. For a second, he thought it was Penelope, but then again, his mind had been playing tricks on him. He dismissed it and continued looking for JJ. Reid was right, it wasn't his job to protect her anymore. He took a deep breath and made his way back to the room.

He noticed Randy coming out of the elevator. Morgan decided to make small talk with him to keep his mind distracted.

"So Randy, how long have you worked in this unit?"

After his conversation with Penelope downstairs he didn't know how he felt about this team. "Going on five years. What about you with the BAU?" They continued to walk into the room,

"Going on a decade. I can't believe its already been that long. I don't remember what it's like to work normal hours. You normally work 9-5 right?" Morgan asked.

Both men sat down in the room, "Yeah, it's rare I work more than that. I don't know how you guys do it and still keep a social life?"

"It's hard."

Just then JJ ran into the room. She let out a sigh of relief when she was Morgan. She took out her phone to text the group. _He's in the room. Everything looks fine._ She put her phone away and sat down at the table.

"JJ, you okay?" she watched as Rossi and Hotch walked in, "Yeah Morgan, I'm fine."

He looked over at her, "When you have a moment can I talk to you?"

"Sure, we'll talk later." He nodded his head in agreement.

The team started working on the case. Morgan noticed that Reid was nowhere to be found. He figured he was on the phone with Penelope. After hearing Hotch's call she probably needed her _best friend…_

* * *

"Pen calm down. He didn't see you. You need to take a deep breath and relax." Reid watched as Penelope paced her office.

"I can't believe I could've ran into him. What would I've said? This is why I told Rossi I wasn't strong enough. Spencer, the man I love more than anything is thirty feet from me and he has no idea. Do you know how hard it is to stay away from him? Reid, he's all I think about. I'm trying so hard to be strong and let the part of my heart that belongs to him go…" She couldn't hold back anymore she started sobbing, "Here I am taking advantage of all of you, because of me, you're all lying to him."

He went over and gathered her in his arms. "Penelope, we're doing this because we love you. You're family and to be honest Derek Morgan needs to be brought back down to size. He needed to understand that his actions have consequences." He wiped a tear off her cheek, "I know we said we would stay a few days, but how about I stay a week once the case is over?

She stopped crying and kissed his cheek, "What would I do without you? I love you so much, you're my best friend."

"You're my sister, Penelope. You took care of me when I was hurting after Maeve. You let me call you all hours of the night, and when I couldn't sleep you'd come over and watch _Doctor Who_ with me. You're the closet thing I have to a real family. When I was sick last year you took care of me in a way my mother never did."

Just then there was a knock. "Come in,"

Randy walked in with some information they needed. "Penelope, have you been crying?"

Reid spoke up, "She's fine now."

"You sure you're okay?" Randy asked.

She wiped her eyes. "Yes Stud, I'm fine just an emotional day. What do you need from me?"

He handed her a name, "We think this man is involved. Can you get me his address?"

"Sure thing, Baby. Give me a second." She did some magic on her computers and about two minutes later she found what she needed. She wrote the address on a sticky note and handed it over. "Looks like he bounced around in the foster system and when he aged out he went under ground. About five years ago he started to resurface."

"Thanks babe, if you need me at all you know where I am," He leaned over and kissed her head.

Once he left the room she looked at Spencer. "He's nice, he's smart, and protective of me."

"I didn't say anything," he held up his hands in surrender. "He seems like a nice guy and he wants to be your friend. You never know what could happen?"

"That's where you're wrong I do know. I'm not meant to have a happy ending. The most I'll get is Godmother status... When you have kids. Reid, I expect to be the Godmother. You hear me? I'm going to spoil them rotten."

"Lets not go crazy, P. I don't even have a girlfriend, but if and when I have kids you'd be their favorite Aunt, that's for sure. Don't count out your own happy ending just yet, okay?"

* * *

Randy stood up "Alright, I'm going to take this to the TA and see if she can get us his address. I'll be back soon." and walked out of the room.

"Hey JJ, can I speak to you?" Morgan walked over to the corner of the room. Rossi and Hotch were looking over the files talking about something on the other side.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"I heard Hotch talking to Penelope a little while ago, he seemed frantic and worried. Is everything okay?"

"Yes Morgan, she's fine. You know Pen; she freaks out sometimes. There was just a small situation and she needed some help. There's nothing to worry about. Let's get this case over with so we can go home. Have you told anyone else about Savanna?"

"No just you," he shifted uncomfortably on his feet ,"I didn't want to be judged. Normally I would've talk to Pen about stuff like this or even Reid, but clearly that's not an option now."

She took his hand and squeezed it "You've always got me."

Randy walked back into the room, "She said he was bounced around in the foster system until he aged out; then he went under ground and only reappeared five years ago, she was able to get his address."

Hotch nodded "Okay Randy and Morgan you head to the address. Rossi and JJ see if you can find anything new at last crime scene." Reid still wasn't back so he figured he could stay behind and be the go between.

"Morgan lets head out" Randy walked out of the door.

* * *

Randy drove seeing as he was a native and new the area. They pulled up to a vacant lot. "This is where she said it was." Randy looked around to see if he saw anything.

"Yeah, maybe we got it wrong can I see the paper?" Randy handed Morgan the address.

When he glanced at it he froze. Penelope's distinctive handwriting was staring back at him.

 **AN: Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think in the reviews. Thanks for the support.**


	9. Chapter 9

His world stopped and he couldn't breath. He looked over at Randy, "You work with Penelope Garcia? She's your tech?"

Randy didn't want to lie to the agent but Dan and Penelope asked him not to say anything. "No, who's that?" Randy tried to play dumb. He knew it was a stupid move you don't lie to a profiler.

"Randy, we need to get back right now, drive or I'll throw you out of the car and drive myself." Randy complied and started back to the office.

Morgan wasn't going crazy, he did she Ester, it was her in the lobby, and in the hall. She had been here the whole time and his team kept it from him. His mind was a blur with emotions.

Once they made it back, he took off running, Randy right on his tail. Randy had one goal, get to Penelope's office and protect her. He reached for his phone to call Reid. When he saw them in her office this morning he assumed they were good friends.

 _"Reid, its Randy. No time to explain. I don't know what happened between you guys but Agent Morgan knows Penelope's here. He is running up the stairs right now."_ He finished out of breath.

Reid was in Penelope's office when he got the call from Randy. "Pen, we need to lock the door right now." He got up and locked them in. He was about to explain what was going on when loud knocking stopped him.

"Penelope Garcia! I know you're in there open the fucking door."

Penelope paled. She went into complete shock. Reid took out his phone, "Hotch, Morgan knows and he's outside of her office door screaming."

 _"I hear him Reid, I just text Rossi. JJ and him are on their way"_

Outside the door Morgan was pounding furiously. He needed to get in there and see her; he could deal with his team later.

"Morgan, you need to back away from the door now. "

Randy ran up behind him. "I don't know what your problem is but there is no way I'm going to let you near her." Randy tried to pull him away but Morgan pushed him off.

"Get off of me, man. I need to see her and now."

Hotch rounded the corner in a full sprint. "Morgan, you need to back away from the door and come with me."

He turned to look at his boss, daggers in his eyes "No Hotch, that's not what's gonna happen. I'm gonna stay right here until she comes out or I break down this fucking door."

"Morgan, if you don't back away and come with me now, your on suspension." Hitch stated.

"On what grounds?"

"Harassment."

"Then do it… I'm not leaving. If I move from this door, she'll sneak out somewhere and leave me again. I'm not letting that happen, not now."

Randy watched the interaction, "She obviously doesn't want to speak to you. You need to back up and leave. She clearly wants nothing to do with you..."

Morgan turned to Randy, "You have no idea what you're talking about. If I were you I would back the fuck up before I put you threw a wall."

"Over my dead body!"

"That can be arranged."

He looked back over at Hotch "I thought I was going crazy! I thought I was imagining her everywhere, even last night I thought I saw Ester. I guessed it was just my mind playing tricks on me... wait a minute, Penelope's the one that fell?" He turned to look back at Randy "and you offered to kiss it? I'll kill you!" he lunged towards the agent when Rossi and Hotch stopped him.

Hotch was able to hold Morgan back by himself while Rossi went over to the door.

"Kitten, its me. Are you okay?" He asked through the door.

Reid spoke up, "Do you think she's okay? She is not okay! she is on the corner crying and shaking in fear."

Morgan's whole demeanor changed after hearing that. He was determined to get to her; he didn't think about the way he was acting. For all she knew, he was pissed about the letter and wanted to scream at her. "If I walk away and go back into the room can you guarantee me she wont take off?"

They heard Reid through the door, "Yes, she won't talk to you now, but after the case is done she will. She won't run. Rossi and I are staying with her so we'll make sure of it."

Morgan looked at Rossi, "I should have known." if looks could kill Rossi would be a dead man.

Hotch walked Morgan back to the room. He was trying to find some control in this situation, but it needed to wait until the case was solved.

"Morgan, I know you're pissed, hurt, and confused. I promise we can talk about all of this later, but right now we have to get this case solved. What did you and Randy find?"

He chipped out, "Nothing, it was an empty lot."

"Okay, let me see if Garcia can find anything else." He walked out of the room taking a deep breath.

* * *

"Penelope open the door I'm coming in." Rossi said, as he tried to get in. "He's gone. Its just JJ, me and Randy." He turned to Randy "Agent, will you give us a minute?"

"No way. I have no idea what the hell is going on. I don't trust any of you with her." Randy went to walk over to the door when Dan walked up. He'd been watching from afar. "Randy, trust me. When Agent Hotchner came here he had a long talk with me. No one here will hurt her. Come on, lets go back in the room we need to work this case before there's another body."

"Fine, I'll go but only because _you_ asked me." He walked over to Penelope's door, "Baby, if you need me for anything I'll be in the room." When there was no response he turned and walked away with Dan.

* * *

Hotch walked up to the door. "Penelope Ann Calliope Garcia, open this door right now!" Reid opened the door.

Reid stood guard over her in a protective manor. She was curled up in a ball on the floor shaking. He knew his team was here to help but he couldn't resist the urge to protect her. Hotch kneeled down next to her. When she looked into his eyes she threw herself into his arms sobbing. He rubbed her back and tried to comfort her. He turned back to Rossi, "Dave go after Morgan. Start working on the case as soon as we get this done we can deal with this whole situation."

"Fine, Reid come with me." He motioned over to Reid. At first he was hesitant but agreed to go. JJ got on the floor next to them. "Sweetie, we're here." Penelope took herself out of Hotch's arms and hugged JJ. Once she let go she immediately went back to Hotch.

"Guys, give us a few minutes. Go work on the case, I need to talk to her." Aaron Hotchner had dubbed himself her brother during her final weeks at the BAU.

He pulled Penelope off the floor and into a chair. "Penelope, I know this is hard, but we can get through this. We're family and we stick together. I don't think Morgan meant to scare you, he just wanted to see you."

She wiped her eyes trying to calm down. "He's so angry." was all she could say before the tears started to escape again.

"He has every right to be angry, Penelope. He's angry at the way you left things and at us because we kept things from him." He sighed, "You have to give him a few minutes to control his anger. You're going to have to talk to him but not now. Now we have a case to solve." She nodded and wiped her eyes "How did he find out?"

"I'm not sure yet but in all honesty there was no way we would have ended up leaving Las Vegas without him knowing. He's extremely intelligent."

She took a deep breath. "What can I do to get this case over with? I guess I don't need to _hide_ any more."

Hotch told her about the empty lot and what else they needed. "Okay, I'll do more digging after I go to the bathroom, I need to fix myself. Once I get what you need I'll bring it to you."

"You sure you want to do that? One of us can just come and get it."

"Yeah Aaron I'm sure. We have a case to solve, we don't need to waste time babying me." She grabbed her purse and made her way to the bathroom.

Hotch watched her leave. She was wrong; she's one of the strongest people he knew.

* * *

Hotch walked back into the room. Rossi looked over at him. "Is she okay?"

"I am going to say this once and only once. Penelope is fine; strongest person I've ever met. I as the leader of this group have made some poor choices. I should have never tried to hide her. Dan, I apologize on the behalf of the whole team for the trouble we have caused you. We will deal with this once the case is solved. Our one goal right now is to get the UNSUBs before there is another body."

He looked over at Morgan. "Morgan, I know this whole situation is a mess. I'm telling you now, if and when you see Garcia on the case do not address her. Right now, let's just focus on the case. If you have a problem with anyone it should be me, and how I handled this. Now lets put our focus 100% back on the case." He took a deep breath. "What do we have so far?"

Reid took out his phone to send Penelope a message. _If you don't want to come in here you don't have to. I'll come and get whatever you want. I have your back 100% of the way. Hotch just informed us not to mention anything to you about this until the case is over. You're strong, Pen. I'm proud of you. Tonight we'll eat ice cream and read okay?_

He placed his phone on the table about two minutes later he got a reply: _Boy Wonder, thank you as always. I need to just bite the bullet. For the first time in weeks I feel 100% free. There is no more hiding or lying going on. I know I have you so I'll be okay. Maybe we can just talk before you read? I love you, Spencer. You're my real hero._

He put his phone back in his pocket and looked over at Morgan. He could tell he was struggling. He just hoped when this was all said and done they could get back to being a family.

* * *

Morgan ways trying to pay attention to everything Hotch was saying but he couldn't stop his nervous movements; his leg bounced and hands shook. He needed to see her. He'd agreed to not talk to her or have any contact with her until the case was solved but that didn't mean he couldn't look at her.

It had been about 45 minutes since Hoch came back in the room and the tension wouldn't dissipate. He shot his head up when someone cleared their throat at the door.

There stood Penelope Garcia. She wore a blue and white flower dress, a flower in her hair and blue framed glasses. She was even more beautiful than before. He followed her movements while she walked into the room. She kept her head down until she reached Dan.

"Baby, are you okay?" Randy jumped out of his seat and ran over to her. "Do you need anything? Do you want me to take you home?"

Morgan growled _who the fuck was this guy and why was he calling her baby?_ If he wasn't allowed to have contact with her then this guy shouldn't either.

"No, you don't need to take me home, Randy. I have the new information." After not hearing her voice for weeks Morgan went weak. His emotions were raw. She still hadn't even looked at him.

"Dan, I set a program to ping if he pops up. If you don't mind I would like to go home. I have the alert set to forward to my laptop and phone if he shows."

"Sure Pen, Just call as soon as he appears." She turned to Rossi. "I've called a cab to come pick me up. I've got to make some stops then I'll be home. Here are my keys, Reid has his key to my house if I'm not home. I have some things I need to take care of right now."

"Bella," He said in a warning tone. "Not this time Dave, I won't run." She looked over at Reid "It's Thursday." Reid knew exactly what she was going to do. With that she walked out of the room.

"She's not running right?" Morgan started to panic.

"No Morgan. On Thursdays she goes to see my mom." Morgan let out a sigh of relief.

Reid trying to make light of the situation, "Bet your glad she gave me a key now?" he laughed a little,

"She might have given you a house key but I got the keys to Ester." Rossi remarked.

JJ rolled her eyes, "Share nice Boys!"

It took all of Morgan's control not to run after her.

 **AN: Thanks for the support! Please review and let me know what you are thinking. I hope you're enjoying the story.**


	10. Chapter 10

It was another two days before the UNSUB resurfaced. During that time Penelope made very little contact with the team. She only appeared with updates when needed. She knew she caused all this animosity by running away. She had placed a wedge between everyone, she just hoped everything could be repaired.

The night Derek found out Penelope was there he had a long talk with Hotch and Rossi. Both man apologized for the way they had been treating him. In the grand scheme of things it wasn't fair to treat him the way they had been. They agreed that him and Penelope needed to have a face to face conversation and the outcome didn't matter, it just needed to happen. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't be angry with his team, they were just doing what she asked. They were ultimately doing what he always had… Protecting her.

* * *

The team was sitting around the table frustrated. They had been trying everything they could and were getting nowhere. Morgan was at his breaking point.

"Hotch, I can't do this anymore, I need to talk to her. She walks in here and doesn't even look at me." Morgan was bouncing his leg.

"Morgan, I know it's hard but-"

Garcia came running in. "I found him! His credit card was just used at a Chinese takeout place about ten minutes from here. I just sent the address to your phones. Go my fine furry heroes!"

She watched them leave. Over the past two days they'd figured out that the original UNSUB was dying and he needed a predecessor. He was linked to murders all over the United States. He never lay dormant he moved from place to place. She knew if they were able to catch his predecessor the case would be over and she would be forced to speak with Derek and that scared her.

* * *

It took six hours of Morgan and Randy integrating the suspect for him to break. He talked about how he _saved_ his victims. He informed them about the rest of the bodies and how _Master_ taught him how to pick his prey.

Morgan was walking by Garcia's office to fishing his paperwork when he heard Randy.

 _"Baby, I know you were looking forward to the cookout. Maybe we can set it back up for this Saturday? We can host it together, your place would be perfect."_

 _"Yeah Randy, that's fine. The team will still be here then. They were planning on staying a couple of days once the case is over."_

 _"Can you finally tell me what's going on with you and Morgan?"_ He heard Penelope sigh while he leaned against the wall to listen.

 _"Have you ever been so in love it kills you? I fell in love with someone I was never supposed too. At first I was fine loving him from afar but then he got a serious girlfriend… like moving in together serious. I tried to be happy for him but it started haunting me. I knew it was only a matter of time before he asked her to marry him. The thought of it actually haunted my dreams. It got so bad I didn't want to go into work in fear of him announcing his engagement. Einstein had it right…_ _Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So I decided to leave. I was so broken, still am."_

 _"Oh Penelope."_

 _"I saw him in the lobby the first day, he was joking with Reid. I felt like the progress I'd made just dissolved. He sounded happy, I wasn't expecting him to be broken because I left, but I didn't expect it not to faze him at all."_

There was a pause. _"I needed to leave; I needed to learn how to live without him. I thought I was doing pretty well until this case came up. Who was I kidding? That man owned me from the first time he called me "Baby Girl" my heart belonged to him, always has always will. It's hard to live your life and try to love when your heart belongs to someone else."_

 _"I'm sorry Penelope. I do know what you're feeling. My first wife invoked all of those feelings in me. When she died, apart of me died with her. We were high school sweethearts. Everyone said we wouldn't last, and that we weren't supposed to be together. I was the head of the football team and she was in band. She made me be a better person; she made me who I am today. When she was diagnosed with cancer we did everything we could to save her but the cancer won. "_

 _"Randy, I had no idea. Why didn't you tell me?"_

 _"It's not something I like to talk about. I hurt everyday for Caroline; she was my one. When she was in the room I would hurt because I knew she would have to leave soon. When she wasn't around I couldn't breath. People would tell me that she wasn't in my league and I need to have a "model" they were wrong. I wasn't in her league. She was the most loving person I ever met. You don't find love like that more than once in your life. Like the love you have for Derek. You know, Penelope, I see a lot of her in you."_

 _"Randy…"_ Morgan knew she was giving him a hug.

 _"It's okay, Penelope. I'm just glad I got to experience love that deep."_

 _"It's a once in a lifetime kind of love. Once you've experienced it nothing else compares. That's why I needed to leave. I'll never feel that deep of a love for another. I needed to at least attempt to move on. Even if I can never love another like I love Derek Morgan I at least need to try."_

 _"What do they say, "It's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all"?"_

 _"What do they know? Let them have their heart damaged beyond repair and then come talk to me."_

Morgan could hear him laugh, _"Come on Sweet Thing, the team is probably done. You've got the next week off. Once you come back it'll be back to boring old unsolved cases with just Dan and I."_

Morgan quickly moved away from her office. He needed to see her tonight. He needed to tell her the truth….

* * *

"Hey Reid, I know I'm not your favorite person but I really need to talk to you." Morgan sat down next to Reid in the office. "I need to see her tonight, alone."

"I don't know, Morgan." Derek stopped him from saying anything else. "You want me to admit it fine. I am in love with her. I'm so in love with her that I died when she left. I pushed her away when I met Savanna and I regret ever second of that. I figured out I'd push he away when she needed me in fear of crossing the line. I never wanted to admit to myself that I was in love with her. I never thought she could loved me."

"How could you not know, Morgan? Everyone knows the way she feels about you. It's in the way she looks at you. I think you always knew you were in love with her but just too scared to admit it, and because of your cowardice she left. I need to make sure you won't cause her anymore harm. I've been trying to put her back together. I don't want you to say you love her just to get her back when you really don't feel that way."

"How could I not feel that way, Reid? She's the most caring, kindhearted, beautiful person I have ever met. Let me fix this, let me show her I love her." He was pleading with Reid.

Reid believed him; he always knew Morgan was in love with Penelope. He just never admitted to himself. "Alright Morgan she's at home now. Dan told her to take off about an hour ago." He handed Morgan his key. "Don't let me regret giving you this. Rossi and I won't be leaving here for a while so you should have all the time you need to talk. Just talk to her Morgan, don't do anything stupid she's still broken." He wrote down the address and handed it to him. He looked back at Morgan with a smile, "Bring her home."


	11. Chapter 11

The cab dropped him off in front of the address Reid gave him. He hadn't been this nervous in his life before; he took a deep breath making his way to the door. This was going to be his one shot to fix everything, if it went well he'd be bringing his baby girl back with him. He decided his best course of action would be to catch her off guard so she couldn't run. He placed the key in the door and turned it.

* * *

After Dan sent her home she decided she'd make dinner for the team. It served two purposes: one feeding her family and two distraction from what was bound to happen with Morgan. She grabbed her phone and sent a text to let everyone.

 _I'm making dinner for all of you. Come by around 7; invite Morgan._

She was stirring the sauce when she heard the door open.

"Boy Wonder, what are you doing back so soon? I just text you to tell you I was making everyone dinner and …." She stopped when she saw Morgan walk into her kitchen.

"Hey Baby Girl, you making dinner for everyone?" He walked over to the stunned Penelope. Once he was right in front of her he grabbed the spoon from her hand and brought it to his mouth to taste. "Mmmm tastes good, Sweetness. "

She was frozen. After not seeing him and than ignoring him she didn't know what to do.

"Penelope?"

She coughed, "Yes?" She tried to move as far from him as possible.

"We need to talk."

She didn't say anything at first, just walked over to the fridge grabbed the wine that was chilling and a beer. He watched her movements trying to analyze her. With a rather large wine glass in hand she handed him the beer and walked out of the room. He followed letting her lead the way.

Once they were in the living room, she put down her glass on the coffee table and motioned for him to take a seat while she turned off the radio that had been playing. Once turning off the radio she made her way over to the couch sitting in the furthest spot from him.

He looked around admiring the décor. "This place looks amazing, Baby girl. You've been able to do so much in such a short time."

She took a gulp of her wine. "Yeah, Spencer came out one weekend and helped me. We spent the whole four days getting me moved in and decorating the rooms. Rossi found this place for me because he wanted there to be enough rooms if everyone came to stay at the same time." She knew she was rambling but she couldn't help it.

He cleared his throat, "When did Reid come?" He knew the answer already. He was going to have another talk with their resident genius soon.

She looked into her wine willing it to give her strength. "A couple of nights after I left I called him upset, we spoke for hours. Once I finally fell asleep he booked a trip for that weekend. He was and is my savor." She looked up at him with a sad smile.

"I noticed that you call him a lot. I hear his phone go off all throughout the day." He inched closer to her.

"Yeah, sometimes I just needed someone to talk to and others were updates on his mom. I started going to see her when I first got here." She stood up to move to the chair away from him.

He groaned internally, he knew this was going to be difficult.

"Do you like Unsolved Crimes?" He was trying to make small talk not sure how to start the conversation.

"Yeah, it's okay. It's not high paced like before and it's uber relaxed. It's nice to work with just Dan and Randy; we get along really well. It's not you guys, but it'll do."

"So Randy, he's a good friend of yours?" He stood up and moved to the spot on the couch closes to her chair.

"He was so kind to me when I got here. He took me under his wing- sort of speak. He loves the outdoors and adventure and wants to take me on some trail…"

He looked at her with his eyebrow raised.

"I know me hiking… not so much." They both laughed.

She cleared her throat needing to get this conversation over with. "So how's Savanna?" She looked back into her glass praying her heart could handle whatever he was going to tell her.

"Why didn't you talk to me? Why'd you have to leave the letter? I thought I meant more to you than for you to be such a coward and leave when I was out of town."

A single tear fell from her eye "I run Derek, it's what I do. I ran when my parents died, I ran when I was hurt, I'd rather run than have to witness whatever I caused." She took a deep breath looking into his eyes. "I'm sorry I left the way I did, but I'm not sorry I left. I was living a lie in Virginia. Everyday I would fall deeper and deeper into a hole that I couldn't find a way out of. I don't expect you to understand most people don't. It hurt being near you to the point that I couldn't breath." She looked away willing herself not to cry, "Excuse me, I need to go stir the sauce." She moved to the kitchen trying to distance herself.

He followed her everyone move. "You could have told me, Penelope. I would have listened."

She turned to look at him. "And what good would that have done, Derek? I come to you and tell you I'm so in love with you that it hurts when I'm with you. You have Savanna, Derek. The women of your dreams…" she turned back to her sauce and whispered "I was just the nerdy best friend who fell in love with the wrong man."

"Had." He said firmly. She looked up at him her eyebrow cocked "You said _have_ it's had, Savanna's gone."

She threw her head back looking up at the ceiling. "Oh God, now I've ruined the best thing you've ever had." She turned to look at him. "I'm so sorry, Derek. I didn't mean to hurt you or ruin your chance at happiness."

"My chance at happiness wasn't ruined when she left Penelope. My chance of happiness was ruined when _you_ left. I died inside when I read that letter, it felt l like my whole world crashed and there was nothing I could do. No matter what I did, I couldn't get to you. You just cut me out, but it wasn't like you cut everyone out it was just me. You would call them all the time and I'd be left wondering if you were okay. I was angry at the team for not telling me, I was angry at you for leaving, but I was most angry at myself for letting you go…" She looked at him confused. "I never saw what was right in front of me. You were always my rock my-"

She cut him off. "Derek, you need to stop right there. I don't want to hear this. I won't sit hear and listen to you tell me you never knew or never looked at me that way. You forget that I know you and you just want everything to go back to normal. I can't do that Derek; I can't go back to living a lie. I need to move on and live my life."

Her words cut him to the core. "Penelope listen to me, it's always been you. Who did I go to in the middle of the night? Who did I go to when I was hurting or scared? Can't you see it's always been you? Even if I couldn't admit it out loud, subconsciously I knew it was you." He moved fast to trap her against the counter. "When you were around I'd do whatever I could to keep you from leaving. I would drag on our movie nights by placing move after movie on hoping you would get so tired you'd have to stay the night just so I could see you the next morning. I love you Penelope, you and only you." He kissed her hard trying to express every emotion he had.

Her head was spinning and her heart was pounding as she was trying to digest what he was saying. When his lips came down to hers her world stopped; she'd wanted this for so long. When he pulled away he rested his forehead on hers. "I love you," he whispered, "I love you so much that I can't breath without you."

Her doorbell rang bringing them both back to reality. She looked at her watch it was 7 o'clock. "How did we talk so long?" She moved away from him to go to the door.

There stood her family. "This place is amazing, PG!" JJ said, while walking in with her go bag. "Thanks Peaches, dinner is going to be a little late, I still have to put the water on."

Rossi kissed her cheek, "I'll take care of it. Go show Aaron and JJ around." Rossi left the group and walked into the kitchen.

Everyone but Rossi and Derek were in the living room, she assumed they were talking. She was telling JJ and Hotch about the decorating she was doing and what she planned on doing. After a couple of minutes Derek walked into the living room. Penelope stopped mid-sentence and looked up at him. "I'll be right back make yourselves at home." and she took off running up the stairs.

Derek went to go after her but was stopped by Reid. "I've got this." and he walked up the stairs after her.

Rossi came out of the kitchen once he heard the door slam from upstairs. "I guess we came back a little too early? " He looked over at Morgan. Morgan just cast his face down with a shake, "I love her, I'm in love with her." he said as he sat down putting his head in his hands.

"It's about time _you_ realized that." JJ said sitting next to him. He took his head out of his hands. "I was so blind; blind about her feelings and blind about mine. Being apart from her made me realize what she was to me, what I want, who I want. I've really messed this up. She's happy here look at this place, it's like Garcia's dream home."

"She's not happy here. She's trying to survive, there's a difference," Said Hotch. "She struggles everyday here, we all know it. She tries to hide the hurt when she calls us but she can't, she's still in love with you. You know; she calls Reid every night so he can read to her until she falls asleep."

"What do I do? How can I fix this?" He looked up, his eyes pleading with everyone.

Rossi spoke next "Go to her, don't back down. She's put walls up around her heart but there is a flaw in the foundation and that flaw is you." Rossi left making his way back to the kitchen. He called back "Second door on the left."

Morgan stood up making his way over to the stairs once he was half way up he looked back at his team. Hotch nodded in support


	12. Chapter 12

Reid knocked on her door before pushing it open. "Pen, you okay?" He saw her sitting on the bed her head in her hands with a defeated posture crying. When she didn't say anything he sat down next to her on the bed bringing his arms around her. "Shh, it's okay, there's no need to cry. You're okay, I got you."

She looked up at him, her eyes swollen and red. "He told me he loved me. Just like that. He said Savanna's gone and that he has always loved me on some subconscious level."

Reid wiped the tears from her eyes. "He's not good with expressing his feelings Penelope. You of all people should know that. At first I didn't want to tell you because you were doing so good here but now you need to know..." She looked up at him confused. Her heart sank, had he been lying to her?

Like he knew what she was thinking he addressed it "I didn't lie to you, I just didn't tell you how he really reacted to the letter." She looked at him wide eyed waiting for him to go on, "He came back the day you left, I guess him and Savanna had been having a lot of problems and she decided she'd rather be at the hospital then finish their vacation,"

Penelope shot up, "That Bitch, I'll kill her!" He smiled at her with a chuckle, "Relax Pen," he looked down shaking his head "You'll always be his biggest protector... Anyway, he came in that day ready to work only to be sent home from Hotch to read your letter. No one heard from him the rest of the day, but early the next morning he came running into the bullpen. He was so hurt, at first he tried to mask his hurt with anger about you leaving and hide his true feelings for you but slowly that changed. He'd ask about you all the time, when we would get a call from you he'd try to eavesdrop and make sure you were okay or even just try and hear your voice. He never stopped trying to protect you or stopped loving you. That day you saw him joking with me you thought he wasn't affected by the letter, you were dead wrong. He's been trying to find you on his own, he wanted to apologize and get you back. He loves you, just like you love him."

"But he doesn't; he just wants everything to go back to normal. Even if he's not with Savanna anymore it doesn't mean another pretty face won't come along. He broke me, he didn't know he did, but he broke me."

"Let me fix you then, let me fix what I broke?" Pen and Spencer both looked up to the door as Derek walked in. "Let me fix what I broke. Give me a chance, let us both get our happy ending." He moved over to crouch in front of her placing his hands upright in her lap. She looked down at them knowing that if she placed her hands in his all the walls she'd placed would come crumbling down.

Reid kissed her forehead and moved to the door. She didn't need him there anymore.

Penelope looked into Derek's eyes. She wanted to believe him, she really did.

With his hands still on her lap he spoke once again, "Let me love you, Penelope? It's the only thing I have ever known how to do."

With that one sentence all her walls came crumbling down. She placed her hands inside of his. He took them and placed them over his heart, "This belongs to you Penelope, always has and always will." She took a deep breath and hesitantly moved to kiss him. Once she reached his lips she could feel him smile. She could do this; she could love him. She just hoped that if next time he broke her heart he'd have the decency to kill her too.

"Come on Baby Girl, let's go downstairs and eat. We can talk later," He said, capturing her lips again. She nodded and followed him out of the room.

* * *

Reid walked back downstairs. Everyone looked up at him as he made his way to the kitchen table. "They'll be fine. She has a lot to healing to do and it'll be a long road but he'll save her." He walked over to Rossi to help set the table.

As Rossi placed the pasta down he looked up to see Penelope and Derek rounding the corner hand in hand. "Thanks for finishing up the dinner, Dave. You really need to stop cooking for me while your here though, like I say every time you do it... You're a guest in my house so I should be cooking for you!"

Reid laughed, "He pays for most of it so technically he owns this place." Rossi threw a roll at Reid's head. "Shut your pie whole, kid."

"David Rossi, are you telling me you own this place?" Penelope asked.

Rossi shrugged his shoulders. "Who else would let you paint the walls and decorate like this? I saw it as an investment. Once you move out I'll still have a place here when I come and visit my friends."

"What do you mean move out?" she looked at him ready to pick a fight when Derek jumped in, "We haven't talked about anything...yet." He looked over at Penelope with pleading eyes. "I'll probably leave the hotel early tomorrow to come by and talk."

Penelope looked over at the group and then him biting her lip. "There is really no need for any of you to stay at a hotel. There is more than enough room here and most of the rooms are complete." She looked back at Derek.

"That's a good thing, Garcia. I checked us out before we drove over here." Hotch said with a smile.

She rolled her eyes at him. "You're lucky I love you, Forever Boss man. Lets eat, you guys can help me plan the cookout for Randy."

They all sat there talking and laughing just like they used too. Derek kept his hand on Penelope's knee drawing small circles with his thumb; he felt if he let her go this all might not be real. About halfway through the meal he couldn't wait any longer he grabbed her chin while she was talking and turned it to him kissing her with nothing but love. When he slipped his tongue out to tease the seam of her mouth she openly obliged to his request, letting him deepen the kiss. Rossi throwing a roll at Derek's head, and catcalls by JJ broke them apart.

Derek looked back at his friends "I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not." They laughed continuing their meal. Once it was done Pen showed everyone their rooms and told them she'd be sitting in the living room with Reid if they wanted to come out and relax.

Once Aaron, JJ, and Derek settled their things in their rooms they made it back out to the group. Rossi was sitting in a huge armchair drinking scotch and Reid was sitting next to Penelope talking about some book. Derek watched the interactions between Penelope and Spencer and realized the bond that had formed. A part of him was jealous of the relationship but ultimately he was glad she had had him when he himself couldn't be there.

A couple more hours passed with them talking and laughing. They were finally feeling like a family again. Rossi looked at his watch "All right kids, I'm going to head up stairs. Tomorrow I want to hit the strip." He said wiggling his eyebrows.

"Sounds like I plan old man" JJ announced with a smile getting up to take off to her room.

Hotch walked over to Penelope and kissed her forehead. "I told you it would all work out." She smiled and watched him walk up to his room.

"Pen, do you want me to read to you tonight? We're just at the end of the _Treasure Island_." She looked up at him with a smile. "I'd like that. I really don't know what I would have done without you all this time." She stood up to kiss him on the cheek.

"Really Pen, we've talked about this. Everyone deserves a guardian angel, yours just came in the form of me." He gave her a hug and kissed her cheek "I'll meet you in your room in 20 minutes." with that he made his way up the stairs.

She looked over at Derek who was watching the interaction between the two. "I'm going to head up to bed and get changed before Reid comes in." At first he panicked but he had no need to be jealous of Reid, he loved her and she loved him.

"Okay baby just..." He grabbed her wrist pulled her to his chest and lowered his head to hers before capturing her lips he whispered "I love you so much. I'm your man, always." He brought his lips down to hers. The kisses they shared were electrifying and left their lips tingling each time.

"I'll see you soon, Momma. Get some sleep." He watched her walk up the stairs to her room with a smile on her face. They still had a lot to talk about but everything was finally looking up.

AN: Sorry for the wait, I've been on vacation. Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading and supporting me.


	13. Chapter 13

Derek waited for Reid to leave Penelope's room. He had to speak to him so he made it his business to wait up no matter how long it took. When he heard Penelope's door shut he knew Reid was making his way back across the hall. He jumped out of his room scaring the poor boy.

"Reid, I need to talk to you."

"God, Morgan. Could you be more like a ninja?" He held his heart, "Come on, I figured you would want to talk tonight." He walked into his room Morgan following behind.

"I can tell she still doesn't believe me." Derek said, sitting down on the bed. "I need your help, Reid. You're her best friend now. I need her to believe in me."

"She's trying, Morgan. You are going to have to give her some time." He moved to he chair in his room to sit down. "You don't understand what it was like for her. You didn't mean to but her heart was broken and she never thought it would be repaired."

Morgan sat at the end of the bed. "I want to fix her and I want her to fix me. I'm just as broken as she is. I know it will take a lot of work but she's my God given solace. I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

"I believe you Morgan, that's why I gave you my key tonight. The thing is though; it's going to take a lot more than a couple of hours to fix this. Morgan, she would have nightmares for months of your wedding to Savannah before she decided to leave. Those nightmares still plague her. One night not long after I got back from seeing her she called me hysterically crying telling me how beautiful Savannah looked in a wedding dress and even if she lost 50 pounds she would never be close to the category of the women you dated."

Morgan placed his head in his hands. "But Penelope is beautiful. I messed up the best thing I ever had in my life and now I don't know how to make us go back to normal."

"That's your problem. You can never go back and you shouldn't. If you went back to the way it was she would just be your friend."

"That's not what I meant. I want to go back to our fun flirty selves. I want to be her confidante, her best friend again."

"You need to take things slow. Up until a week ago she thought she would never see you again and would never know your love. She attempted to make a new life for herself here, a life without you. Her whole world has turned upside down. "

"How can I prove to her that she is all I ever wanted and that I was just too stupid to not see what was right in front of me?"

"You need to talk to her, Morgan, the sooner the better. Don't push her though, I am not extremely versed in intimacy but I know Sam really did a number on her. He made her feel like she was fat and ugly. That's part of the reason she couldn't see you so happy with Savannah, every guy she had ever been with told her that. Well with the exception of you, you always told her how beautiful she was but she would never truly believe your words because you never dated anyone like her. Actions speak louder than words, Morgan."

"I get it, Reid, I fucked up." He sighed, "I just need to talk to her don't I? Talking to you isn't going to get me anywhere is it?"

"Talking to her is going to be your best bet but I can give you insight on how she was feeling. Like you mentioned before, I became her best friend. She tells me everything."

Morgan looked serious for a moment, "Do I need to be worried about Randy?"

"No, not anymore. I would say before this case yes, there would be a great possibility for them to become a couple, but now that your back in her life there is no way. She might be guarded right now but you own her heart. There is no denying that. It's gonna take some time but she's all yours."

"Thanks Reid. I think I'm going to go talk to her. Did she fall asleep when you were reading?"

"No we were almost done with the story so there wasn't a lot left to read. Once I finished we sat on her bed and talked for a while about everything that had happened. She wants to believe that you love her, Morgan."

Morgan nodded and made his way out of the room.

"Hey Morgan?"

"Yeah, Reid?" He said turning back.

"For what it's worth I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I truly thought you would pick Savannah over her. I chose Penelope over our friendship and for that I'm sorry. I should have had more confidence in you. I always thought of you as a brother."

"I don't blame you for choosing Penelope over me. If I had to choose between anyone and Penelope, I would always choose her. No matter who she was up against. We are good, Reid; if anything I owe you for taking such good care of her when I couldn't. You'll always be a brother to me."

"Thanks Morgan. Now go talk to your woman and convince her to come back home."

Morgan smiled at the _His woman_ comment. Reid was right, she was his woman and he was her man. He walked out of Reid's room and walked across the hall ready to talk to Penelope.

* * *

 **AN: Sorry it took so long for this update and that it's short. I wanted to spend a good amount of time on Derek and Penelope's conversation. I will update with that soon. As always thank you for your reviews. It always makes me happy seeing them.**


	14. Chapter 14

He took a deep breath before he knocked on Penelope's door. When he heard the quiet, " _Come in,"_ he pushed open the door to see Penelope sitting cross legged on the bed with her laptop in front of her.

"Can we talk, Baby Girl?" He saw the worried look in her eyes as she nodded and closed her computer.

"If you're here to tell me you changed your mind just walk right back out that door and send Reid in." She moved to get under the blankets hoping they could help shield her heart.

"You must be joking right? There is no way in Hell I would walk out of this room." He sat on the bed and reached for her hand. When she pulled away slightly he sighed, "This is why we need to talk, Penelope. I want you to trust me and believe in me, believe in us."

She put her head down in shame. "I'm trying..."

"I know you are. I want to prove to you, we are meant to be. I know you're hurt, I know I'm the one that hurt you. You might not think I know what it feels like to be hurt but you're wrong." He pulled out the letter from his pocket. "When you left I died inside. I became a shell of myself, Penelope. I never realized you were the one that brought light into my life. You were the reason I woke up every morning."

"You had Savannah."

"Yeah I did. I was wrong to think she invoked those feelings in me, when it was really you. It's always been just you Penelope, no one else. It hurt knowing Reid became your best friend when you left. It made me feel like you really replaced me, replaced what we had." He shifted a little on the bed. He didn't like feeling so vulnerable. He knew that they needed to get everything out in the open if they were going to move past this.

"I needed a friend. I needed someone I could talk to when you haunted me at night. You controlled my every move and you didn't even know it. It was hard to quit you cold turkey, but I needed to try and heal my heart. Everyday that I worked along side of you, my heart would shatter more and more. Reid was there for me every step of the way. When I couldn't sleep he would stay up with me for hours reading to me or just talking. I don't know what I would be like without him?"

"We have both hurt each other and I understand it will take a while to get over that but we need to. I've lived a life without you, Penelope and I don't want to go back to that. I can't go back to that. I'll do whatever it takes to prove that to you. If you love it here fine, I'll walk into Hotch's room right now and tell him I quit. I'll move here right now if that's what it takes. I can't be away from you anymore. I won't do it. I get if you want to take this slow but, I can't do this from across the country. I'll find a place here and we'll go on dates and when you're ready we can go the next step and move in together..." he realized he was rambling. He hadn't been this nerves in his life before.

"Derek, I don't want you to leave your dream job to move here. You would end up hating it and in turn hating me."

"No, you're wrong. I would never hate you, Penelope. The only thing I would hate is being apart from you. Either you'll move back with us or I'll move here. I don't care who moves but I can't live without you."

"I don't know if I could handle going back to where we could run into one of your conquests at any moment."

"Then I'll move here. We can start a family right here. You and me and whomever we are blessed with." He put her hand on her belly. She looked down at his hand then back up at him. "You're serious aren't you?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I hope we do run into my past girlfriends just so I can show you off. Show them that I am with the most beautiful women in the world."

She removed his hand from her belly. "I'm not beautiful." she looked away from him.

He inched closer to her on the bed. "Penelope, why are you saying that? You are the most beautiful person in the world."

"I'm not Derek, so stop. I know what I look like, I know what people have said about me or to me." She looked at him ashamed.

"Talk to me Penelope, we need to talk and get everything out in the open, no more secrets between us."

She pulled her knees up to her chest to protect herself from the hurt as she recalled her memories. "You'll get tired of me and find me repulsive sooner or later, just like the rest of them. At first it will be okay, you won't mind the extra fat or stretch marks, but soon you'll start to make suggestions- little ones at first like why don't you get a salad? or let's go for a run? It always ends the same way, Derek. I get left in the cold no matter how much love I have to give it's never good enough." She had tears in her eyes as she recalled Sam's last word. _"He will never want you. Look at you? Don't you think if he ever wanted you he would have made a move on you by now? He's too repulsed to even touch you, not even when he's drunk._ " She put her head in her knees trying to hide the tears that were escaping.

Morgan's heart broke, how could these men treat her like that? How could he have not seen it? and worst of all he never did anything to stop it. His words were not good enough; he needed action.

He stood up and started to remove his shirt. "Sweetheart, you trust me right?" She pulled back wide eyed at him. "Derek, stop I don't want to do this."

He leaned down and kissed the tears on her cheeks then he lightly kissed her lips, "We aren't doing anything baby. I want to show you every part on my body that I hate. I want to show you what I see when I look in the mirror."

She looked at him confused. "You're perfect, Derek. There isn't one thing wrong with you?"

"There is a lot wrong with me. I'm not as smart as Reid, I'm not as level headed as Hotch, and I'm not as suave as Rossi. It's not just that though I have parts of my body I hate." He removed his shirt and undershirt leaving himself naked from the waist up. "You trust me right?"

"With my life," she nodded.

He removed his pants only leaving his boxers on. He watched as her eyes coasted over his body. He knew he looked good but that was only the outside. He had never voluntarily showed anyone the parts of his body that bothered him. His hands shook as he started.

He turned to his side where there was a scar about 4 inches long, "I was a rookie cop who thought he was invincible. It was my second week on the job and I responded to a robbery; I went in by myself thinking I could handle whatever was going on. I was jumped from behind. One of the gang bangers stabbed me and left me for dead. I was thankful there were officers right around the corner. I was taken to the hospital and after six hours of surgery I was fine." he swallowed "I hate this scar, every time I look at it I see my stupidity."

He moved to have his back face her. He felt for the bullet exit wound. "Right here, is where I once again was stupid and got myself shot. Every time I feel it or see it in the mirror I'm remind of losing my control."

He sat down on the bed and showed her his knee. "This is the knee I messed up in college. There is no scar, but I hate this part of my body. When I look at my knee or when I feel pain I think of the life I could have had if I didn't blow it out." she reached out and put her hand on his knee.

He turned and placed his lion tattoo in front of her. "Did I ever tell you why I go this tattoo?" She shook her head no so he took a deep breath, "This was the first place Buford touched me. He squeezed my shoulder the first day I was at the youth center. It slowly became a thing for him; whenever he would want alone time with me he would squeeze my arm. As soon as I was old enough I got this tattoo. I guess a part of me thought the lion could protect me."

She reached out to trace the lion with her fingertips, "When you look at all of this you should be happy. You should see that all of this makes you who you are. I think you are the most beautiful man in the world."

"Thank you, sweetheart. I wish I could see myself the way you see me."

"When you look at this lion you should see what you overcame and how strong you are now. It's so you, so strong, and such a protector. The male lion protects his pack, just like you protect us."

He leaned down and kissed her. "Thank you baby." He moved to grab his pants to put them back on when she stopped him. He looked at her sideways not sure what she wanted.

She wanted to prove to Derek she could do this, she needed to prove to herself she could do this. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him and to do so he was right; there should be no secrets between them. She moved the covers off of herself and stood up onto her knees. He watched her as she removed her top with shaky hands. "I want to show you what I don't like."

She removed her top keeping her eyes cast down. She didn't want to see the disgust on his face. "I hate the way I look in the mirror; my arms are flabby and my stomach is big." She took a deep breath once again trying to get courage for what she was doing. She reached behind herself and unhooked her bra, "My breasts sag and I hate looking at them." She heard Derek's quick intake of breath but she refused to look up. She moved to her pajama bottoms and removed them as well. "I hate looking at my thighs, they have so much cellulite on them it looks like waves in the ocean." She bit her lip and placed her hand over her scar. "This is the worst part of my body. It reminds me every day that I could never be with a man like you."

She finally looked up at Derek but what she saw shocked her. It wasn't disgust it was love and lust. Feeling self conscious she moved back to the pillows grabbing the sheet to pull it around her. "I'm sorry I shouldn't have-" She was cut off by his lips.

"You're beautiful, Penelope. Your arms aren't flabby, your stomach isn't big; your thighs are beautiful, your soft ,baby, all woman. Oh and trust me, you're breasts aren't saggy. I love them, you can look at my boxers for proof of that." She looked down and her eyes grew wide. His desire for her was clearly visible.

He took her chin and moved it to look up at him. "You're scar makes you who you are. It made you the person you are today, the person I love. Your scar shouldn't remind you of not getting with someone like me because Battle was nothing like me." He removed the sheet from her and bent down to kiss the scar. "Your scar reminds me of how close I came to losing you. It reminds me every day of how short life is and whenever I see it, whether it's when you are getting dressed in the morning, coming out of the shower, or when we're making love, it will always be a reminder to me of how strong you are and how much I thank God every day that I have you."

"Oh Derek..." She moved up to capture his lips. "Thank you..."

She pulled the covers back and patted the spot beside her. "I'm not ready for more yet, but I don't want you to leave tonight. Would you mind just-"He cut her off with his lips. "I'll wait as long as you want and as for sleeping next to you? Once I do it, I don't think I will ever be able to stop." he kissed her again. "I love you, Penelope."

She smiled as she melted into his body as he pulled her close. "I love you, too." He kissed the top of her head and shut the light off. They still had some things to work out but they were making progress.

* * *

AN: Thank you so much for reading. Please review and let me know what you are thinking. Thank's again! There will be an update soon.


	15. Chapter 15

Derek hadn't slept this well in his life. When he opened his eyes, his arms were wrapped around a topless Penelope, and he couldn't be happier. He closed his eyes again, trying to control his body. When he opened them back up, he saw two beautiful eyes staring back at him.

"Good morning, Princess."

"I'll show you a good morning, Hot Stuff." At her words, he growled.

"Sorry," she said in a small voice.

"Don't be sorry. You know, I haven't slept this well in ... well, ever." She smiled up at him.

"I love you, Derek. Thank you for what you did last night. Knowing that you have parts about you that you hate makes me feel like I'm not the only one."

"Sweetheart, everyone has things about them that they hate. The thing about having a partner is that it means we can work threw them together." He kissed her.

"I'm going to take a shower before everyone wakes up and wants breakfast." She sat up and let the sheet fall to her waist.

He kissed the side of her neck. "I love you, Penelope. You're so beautiful."

She gave him a quick kiss and got out of bed. He watched as she bit her bottom lip. "I'm not ready, but would you like to join me?"

He jumped out of bed, running to catch up with her. "How can I pass up an offer like that?"

"I'm not ready for anything more, but we can at least get used to each other, right?"

"Right, baby girl. Come on." He took her hand and brought her into the bathroom.

Once they were in the bathroom he turned to her. "You sure you want to do this?"

Instead of answering him, she took a deep breath and removed the last bit of clothing she was wearing. She refused to look up at him, but she was trying. She was pushing away all her insecurities; this man that was standing in front of her showed her last night that everyone had them. It was something no one had ever done for her before.

He watched as she removed her panties. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever. The sight of her naked in front of him nearly took his breath away. He moved in front of her, cupping her chin in his hand.

"Baby Girl, you're so beautiful. All of you." She was now looking up at him with timid eyes. "You really are the most beautiful person in the world to me, sweetheart."

She gave him a small smile and moved to turn on the water. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Penelope."

She turned back to him, giving him a small smile, and said, "I love you too."

He let go of her and stepped back to remove his boxers. The look on her face was well worth it. Her eyes grew wide at the sight of him.

"Oh, Hot Stuff, when I'm ready, I am going to have a good time with that." He smiled widely back at her. This was the first time she acted like her saucy self. Things were looking up for them. He grabbed her hand and brought her into the shower with him.

Reid was on his way out to the kitchen when he stopped, knocked on Penelope's door, and called, "Garcia? Are you okay?" He wanted to check on her. He knew the talk with Morgan last night could have only gone one of two ways, and either way, he knew she would need to talk.

He waited a couple more minutes and knocked again. "Garcia?"

The door swung open, but it wasn't Garcia standing there; it was Morgan - wrapped in a towel. "You didn't?" Spencer said through clenched teeth.

He told Morgan to be careful with her and he took advantage of her instead?

Morgan smiled. "No, Reid. It's not what it looks like. Yes, I slept in here last night, but nothing happened. Then this morning we took a shower together. We're working everything out, Reid."

He looked him up and down, deciding whether or not he wanted to believe him. "I'm going to let you get dressed. Tell Pen I want to talk to her later."

Morgan nodded and shut the door, then walked back into the bedroom. "Sweetheart, that was Reid; he wants to talk to you."

Penelope walked out of the bathroom in just her panties and bra. "Was he just checking on me?"

"Yeah, that's what it looked like. He didn't seem to like the fact that I answered your door in a towel." Derek laughed as he looked her up and down.

"He'll get over it. Once we get out of here, I'll have a talk with him." She moved over to her dresser to pull out some clothes.

"Have you thought about what we talked about last night?" Derek asked, moving off the bed and going over to her.

"Not really. I promise I will, though. Rossi wants to go to the strip today; maybe we can go have lunch somewhere and talk?"

"Penelope, I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I have never shown anyone what I showed you last night. You own a part of my soul now; really, you always have. I have never slept as well as I did last night, and I will never sleep alone again. I need this Penelope. I need you."

She looked him in the eye, trying to understand everything that he was telling her. "I'm scared. I'm scared that once you move here or I move back there we will fall apart. I made a life for myself here, Derek. What happens if I move back with you and I lose again? I don't think I can handle it if I end up broken again."

He cupped her face and whispered, "I know it's hard to believe, but trust me; I will never break you. You are my person, the love of my life. Hell, Pen, we don't have to move back home; we can move somewhere completely different, you and I. Just pick a place and we'll go."

She moved to the bed and sat down. She wanted to believe him; she always did. He never intentionally broke her heart; she was the one that fell in love with her best friend and then left. He proved to her last night that he loved her and was willing to wait for her, and that meant a lot. Maybe it was time take leap of faith.

"Okay," She said, still looking down.

He couldn't believe his ears. Did she just say 'okay'? He ran over to her and dropped to his knees. "What did you say?"

She looked up at him, her smile growing. "I said 'okay'."

He cupped her face in his hands and said, "Okay what, baby?"

"I'll come home."

He threw himself into her arms, causing her to fall backwards on the bed. She started to laugh as he attacked her, kissing anywhere he could reach. "I love you so much, Penelope. I love you with all my heart." He continued to kiss her anywhere his lips would reach.

"I love you too, Handsome." She moved to sit up on the bed and said, "Get dressed Sweetie" She patted his leg.

"You just made me so happy. I can't believe you're coming home with me. We can move wherever you want. I have three properties right now, and they are all almost done. Pick the one you like best, and I'll have my boys fix it up so it'll be ready for us when we get back." He was so excited he could barely control it. He was nearly bouncing on the bed.

"Show me the properties later, and we can choose together. I love you, Derek, and I will do whatever I can to make us work."

He kissed her again, bouncing off the bed.

"You can help me set everything up for the cookout. I'm really excited about it." She cupped his face. "Thank you for proving me wrong, Handsome. I love you."

"I love you too, Sweetheart."

* * *

AN: Next chapter cookout and moving back home. Thank you for reading I really appreciate all the reviews.


	16. Chapter 16

There were still some ups and downs throughout the week; but Derek and Penelope were slowly becoming more comfortable around each other as a couple. Derek refused to sleep anywhere but next to Penelope at night. They had now gotten into a routine, they would do touristy things around town during the day, and Rossi would cook dinner at night while the rest of the team helped pack up Penelope's belongings.

When she came down for breakfast the morning after she told Derek she would be coming home the team was ecstatic.

 _"Why are you looking so chipper?" Rossi asked standing over the stove making pancakes, while Morgan and Garcia walked into the Kitchen._

 _Morgan jumped at the chance to answer him. "She's moving back home, with me." It didn't go unnoticed by Rossi the fact that Derek was acting like a child who was told he was going to Disney World._

 _"That right, Kitten?"_

 _"Yeah, he's right. I just decided this morning. I want to be with you all. It was hard living here so far away from my family. Don't get me wrong, Vegas is amazing- made for sin- and that's right up my ally."_

 _She heard Derek growl and she couldn't help but laugh as she continued. "But my home is where you are." She looked back at Derek who squeezed her hand._

 _"I'm glad, Bella. Have you called Dan or Randy yet?"_

 _"No, I'm going to swing by the office today. I need to talk to Randy anyway about the cookout."_

 _Hotch and Reid walked into the kitchen hearing the tail end of the conversation. "Did I hear you right, Garcia? You'll be coming back to Quantico?" Hotch asked nonchalantly not wanting to get his hopes up._

 _Garcia feeling a little uncomfortable untangled her hand from Morgan's. When she let go he decided he would need to prove to her he was all in so he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into the vee between his legs and kissed the side of her neck._

 _She cleared her throat to answer Hotch. "Yeah, I need to talk to Dan and put in a transfer. I saw last week White–Collar needed a permanent analyst. I will just need to get ahold of their leader. I also need to get ahold of the Director and inform him of the changes. I'm sure he will be glad to have me back on his turf. He calls me ever couple of days asking how it's going."_

 _"Let me take care of all of that," Hotch said now smiling. "You'll be coming back to the BAU."_

 _"Sir, I can't, first- Lynch has my old job, and second- the frat rules are still in place." She looked at Morgan, "That is if you still want to continue this?"_

 _Instead of answering her he took her by the face and kissed her hard. Catcalls were heard from the hallway as Emily and JJ walked in. "What's the party about?"_

 _"Penelope is going to marry me," Morgan said matter-of-factly._

 _Garcia paled, she wasn't ready for that, no way. Morgan saw the look on her face and quickly added, "I haven't asked her yet, but I'm going to. As of right now she's agreed to move in with me back home."_

 _"You're going to move into the house you shared with Savannah?" Reid asked a little annoyed._

 _"NO!" Morgan snapped. "I have some properties that are nearly finished right now. Tonight I'm going to have my girl look at them and decide which one she wants to live in, then I'll have some of my boys fix it up so it's ready for when we get back."_

 _Garcia saw the trepidation on Reid's face. "Come on, Boy Wonder, let's go to our spot."_

 _Morgan instantly became jealous; Reid and her have a spot? He thought to himself. She reached her hand out to Reid who gladly took it. Nothing was said as they walked out of the front door._

 _The park was only two blocks from her house; they had found it the first weekend he came out to see her._

 _"What's weighing on that beautiful mind, Spencer?" They made their way to a bench._

 _"I want you to be happy. I'm ecstatic you'll be coming back home but do you think it'll be wise to move right in with Morgan?"_

 _"I hear you, I was thinking the same thing, but last night he gave me something I never thought anyone could."_

 _"He didn't take advantage of you did he?"_

 _"No sweetie, I did see him naked, though." she joked with him. "Last night he showed me things he didn't like about himself. I know it sounds weird but it felt good to know someone as perfect as him still had insecurities."_

 _Reid wrapped his arms around her. He's never had a friend like Garcia and he will be there for her until the end, no matter what bumps come up along the way._

* * *

By Thursday Garcia had already gone to work and explained the situation. Dan wasn't as surprised as she thought he would have been. He figured she would be going back home after talking with Hotch when they first got there, he even had her paperwork filled out. Randy on the other hand was a little apprehensive about the move, he understood the pain she was going through when she moved there, but he never thought she would move back. But given the chance to be with his wife again he would do anything for it.

Most of the house was boxed up now, it made Garcia a little nervous. She had made a life for herself here and she was willing to throw it all away to be with Morgan. Right now he was acting like a child given his favorite toy back, but she couldn't help but wonder if it was just missing his best friend.

She couldn't help but think that way sometimes, but at night he always proved her wrong. It became a routine for him, he would crawl into bed next to her, lift her night shirt up and kiss her scar, then her stomach, her thighs, her arms, the top of her chest and then finally her lips. He would mumble sweet nothings about every part of her body she disliked.

The cookout turned out to be her going away party. They had worked hard on getting everything together for her move back home with them. Hotch and Rossi were diligent on getting her back into the BAU and their relationship approved with the Director. Lynch wasn't to pleased being transferred to the White-Collar team but Hotch really didn't care. He was glad to be getting his favorite tech back.

"What's got you in deep thought there, Forever Boss man?" Garcia said walking up to Hotch whom was standing by the grill.

He smiled at her, before speaking, "I'm just glad you're coming home. Jack is going to be really excited."

"I'm excited too, we picked a beautiful ranch style property that's right outside of town. Morgan's friends have been sending him updates on the house. He's even giving me a in-home office that will interface with my computers at the BAU." She blushed a little. "He said when we start having children he wants me to work from home." She looked away from him a little embarrassed.

"I'm really happy for you, Penelope. Morgan does love you."

"I know he does, sometimes it just seems so unreal." She picked up the tongs to turn over a hotdog that was burning. "I think we are going to make it. Well, I hope so."

"You will." He grabbed the tongs from her. "He hasn't stopped staring or talking about you. Even Randy is coming around when it comes to liking Morgan. You're one of a kind, Pen, everyone seems to always fall in love with you."

"Are you in the category, boss man?" she asked giving him a smile.

"Hell yeah. You're my sister, and I couldn't be more excited to have you back on the correct side of the country. "

Morgan was watching Hotch and Garcia talk for a couple of minutes. He had truly never been this happy before in his life. He reached his hand into his pocket to feel the ring he picked up early that morning.

He smiled thinking back to buying it.

 _"Reid, I need your help." He knocked on Reid's door while the girls were out having a spa day._

 _"What's up, Morgan?"_

 _"I want to ask her to marry me before we leave here on Monday. She might not be ready to say yes, but I want to give her the ring and when she feels it's time she can place it on her finger."_

 _Reid studied his behavior for a moment, "You really are serious aren't you?"_

 _"Like a heart attack. She is the love of my life, all the feelings I felt when I was with Savanna were really based on how Penelope made me feel. I thought Savanna make me feel this way but I was wrong, it's always been her."_

 _"What do you need my help with?"_

 _"You're familiar with the area, I want to get her something that is uniquely her and I need your help, maybe Rossi and Hotch too. You're her best friend now, she goes to you for everything."_

 _He was quiet for a moment thinking about what Morgan was asking of him, he looked at him and said, "There is a really nice custom jewelry store not far from the MGM Grand- I bought my mom a necklace from there when I was younger. We can get Rossi and Hotch to come along with us."_

 _Morgan smiled; before the moving truck arrived Monday he will have asked Penelope to marry him._

* * *

He walked over to Garcia who was still talking to Hotch and he wrapped his arm around her waist. Before when he would do that in public she would stiffen in his arms and try to escape but now she embraced his touch and even welcomed it. She leaned back into his chest to look up at him, "Hiya Handsome. What's that look for?"

"You're so beautiful. Hey, can you come with me for a moment?"

Hotch smiled at Morgan giving him an all-knowing look. "Sure, Hot Stuff, where are we going? I wanted to go over and talk to Dan and Randy."

"You can talk to them later. Right now, I have something I need to do." He grabbed her hand and brought her to the bedroom they had been sharing for the past couple of nights.

"Derek, what are you doing?" He didn't say anything as he continued to the spot next to the bed, encouraging her to take a seat.

He stood in front of her a little nervous. "First- let me start this off by saying I don't need an answer right now. I don't want to freak you out but I have to do this right now, today." He got on one knee taking a deep breath.

"Penelope, this is where I showed you a part of me I have never voluntarily shown anyone before, so I thought it would be fitting if I gave you my whole heart here as well and ask for yours. For longer than I can remember you were the first thing I thought of when I would wake up in the morning and the last thing I thought of when I went to bed at night. I never put two and two together realizing that meant love. I would follow you to the ends of the earth if I had to, just so I could be with you. I feel whole when I'm with you, and at night I sleep like a baby. The past couple of nights I haven't had one nightmare about Buford, and I normally have them every night. You chase away my demons and I hope I can chase away yours. I want to spend the rest of my life with you and if you'll have me I will promise to prove to you everyday how much I love you. You are the light of my life, the reason I wake up in the morning." He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out the ring. "Will you Penelope Ann Calliope Garcia, do me the honor of becoming my wife and the mother of my children?"

She couldn't breath; she looked at him then down to the ring he was holding. It was an emerald cut ruby diamond with little white diamonds all round it; it was in a white gold setting that intertwined around the base. It was by far the most unique beautiful rings she had ever seen.

Her hands were shaking as she reached out for the ring. He willing gave it to her not wanting to push her into speaking but his insides were turning. She examined the ring then looked up at him, she stared him in the eyes as she placed the ring on her finger.

She didn't have to say yes, he knew her placing the ring on her finger was his answer. He leapt to his feet tackling her to the bed kissing ever part of her skin he could reach. "I love you so much, Baby Girl. You just made me so unbelievably happy." He pulled back to look her in the eyes, what she saw made her breath hitch he had tears in his eyes ready to fall over onto his cheeks.

"Oh, Derek…" she used the ball of her thumb to wipe away his tear. "You're all I have ever wanted of course I will marry you."

They laid on the bed kissing for about ten minutes when he pulled away yanking her to her feet. "Come on, sweetness. Let's go down and celebrate."

She gave him a wicked smile, "I can think of other ways to celebrate."

He kissed her again, "So can I, but you are right. We should wait, I want to wait until we are in our house starting our new life together."

She look into his eyes, "You really are special. I'll be ready whenever you are."

He kissed her again before taking her hand and leading her out to the cookout.

* * *

 _AN: This story means so much to me. Thank you all for the reviews and follows. I'll have more up soon._


	17. Chapter 17

**I got my computer back yay! I want to thank everyone for all of the support. I know I don't update this story as much as my others. I promise I will have regular updates again. Please enjoy.**

* * *

"So, how are you settling in with Derek?" Reid asked, taking a sip of his coffee. Penelope had asked him to go out with her to talk, after not seeing him for a few days. So now they were sitting at the coffee shop not far from Reid apartment. She instead on going to this one, saying she missed the _east coast_ coffee.

"We still have our ups and downs, but we are working on it." Penelope answered, taking a sip of her own drink, "It's only been a week."

"If you ever need to get away, you know you can always come and stay with me." Reid told her.

"I know, Boy Wonder. You are the best friend I have ever had, Sweetie. Thank you." She took his hand in hers. "You were so good to me when I needed it most."

"You're a special girl, Garcia. And you deserve to be treated as such." He answered honestly.

"I'm glad you always had faith in me, even when I didn't."

He gave her a small smile. They continued chatting about the past week as they drank their coffee. They finally got her and Morgan moved into their new house earlier in the week. The director was so thrilled to have Penelope back under the same building as him, that he gave the whole team the rest of the week off to help get her settled again. They were all- including Penelope- set to head back to work Monday morning.

Penelope was right in her assumption. Lynch was pissed he was being transferred to White Collar Crimes. He even went as far as threating the team about going to the director on how they conducted their investigations. Rossi had to laugh; the weasel had no idea who he was messing with. Everyone in the FBI knew not to mess with the BAU, especially now they were whole again.

"So… uh…" Penelope started, but then stopped again taking a deep breath, "Reid, I want to ask you a question."

Reid gave her a quizzical look while he straightened in his seat, "Okay Pen, shoot."

"I know it's going to sound a little weird, but you were there for me when I needed you most," She stated, "and I really don't know how I will ever repay you for reading to me at night, when I was most upset. You helped my heart heal from a pain I thought would keep me forever broken."

"Penelope, that's a statement not a question." Reid stated.

" _Spencer,"_ She rolled her eyes, "I'm trying to make this meaningful, okay?"

"Sorry," he gestured his hand for her to go on.

"I wanted to ask if you would mind being my Best Man- Made Of Honor?" she looked at him hopeful.

"Wow, Pen." He knew he had shock written all over his face.

She quickly continued, "You don't have to. I mean I can always ask the girls. It's just when you look at that particular roll in a wedding, the honor usually falls upon the brides best friend, the person who has gone above and beyond the call of friendship and well that's you to me."

"Penelope, I would be honored to stand beside you as you marry Morgan." He cupped her hand in his, feeling the tension relax within her. "Is that why you asked me here today?"

"Yeah," She answered, "I was talking to Derek the other night and I told him I wanted you to stand beside me."

"I'm very honored, Penelope." He smiled at her, "Thank you."

"No, I'm the one that needs to thank you." She took a sip of her coffee.

"Have you guys decided on a date yet?" He asked continuing the conversation.

"Well, yeah. That's why I needed to ask you." She answered looking nervous.

"What's the date?"

"We want to get married next month on Friday the 11th." She watched as Reid's eyes widened then looked down at his watch.

"P, todays the 12th. That's less than a month away." He stated matter of fact.

"I know," she took another sip of her drink smiling this time, "we talked about it and decided we are going to wait to… you know, until we're married. So there would be no mistake from either side about our commitment to each other."

Reid cocked his head to the side, "So you picked the soonest date you could?" he smiled at her.

"Yep."

* * *

"Baby Girl, you're home," Derek called out as he heard the front door open.

"Yes, Handsome." She walked into the kitchen where Derek was making a snack. "I had a good time with Reid."

"I'm glad, Momma," he walked over to give her a kiss, "Did you ask him?"

She smiled at him and nodded her head, "He said he was honored. Albeit, a little shocked when I told him the date."

Derek gave her a look, "Did you tell him why we picked that date?"

She gave him a sheepish look,

"Pen, he didn't need to know _that_." He said with a laugh.

"Well, he asked and I wasn't about to lie to him." She turned to leave the kitchen and head to their bedroom to shower and change.

"Where do you think you're going, young lady?" He ran after her, scooping her into his arms.

"Derek, put me down!" she hollered.

"Never, baby. " he kissed the side of her neck. "You gonna take a shower and change?"

"Yes, Sweetie." She answered looping her arms around his neck enjoying the ride.

He gave her wolfish grin as he walked through the bedroom towards the bathroom. Once they were inside he placed her down. He then lifted his arm over his head to smell his underarm- a typical guy move. "I can use a shower," he stated, before removing his shirt.

"Really, Hot Stuff?" She looked at him trying to stifle her laugh.

"What can I say? I've grown accustom to taking a shower with you. So why should I stop now?" He said, removing his jeans.

"Well, who am I to argue with that logic?" She smiled as she grabbed the bottom of her dress to pull it over her head.


	18. Final

**AN: Ahh! I am sorry I stink at updating my older works. I have gotten tons of PM's asking me to update. So here I am. I had a talking to with my muse and told her we had to finish this story. It was my second ever FanFiction and I owe it to myself and you guys to update it. As of right now I am going to say this will be the final chapter unless you all really want an epilogue. This being my second ever FanFiction, I know there are tons of misspellings and grammar mistakes. When I get a few days, I will go back and fix all of them. I want to thank you all for the support. If I never go the support with this story I would have never continued writing. Also, I have an update for _Finding Home_ and it is with my beta along with _Falling Into You_ and _Secrets, Lies, and Desires_. I will hopefully have that out soon as well. You all are amazing in every way. **

**Thank you again for all of the reviews, follows, favorites with Almost Had You. Thank you so very much!**

* * *

 **Wedding Day**

The church was decorated, and the guests in their seats. Everything was as it should be. Derek and Penelope had worked extra hard to get everything done in such a short amount of time. Thank God for Rossi's connections or it never would have happened in less than a month.

The music started playing and Derek turned from the front of the alter to look back at the doors, awaiting his soon to be wife, to make her appearance. His heart raced as he saw the door open. There she was. She took his breath away, as she made her way down the isle. She was dressed in white lace from head to toe. Her hair was flowing freely, down her shoulders and back, with a white flower pinned at the top.

Once she made it to Derek, he moved from his spot to grab her hand. He lightly kissed her cheek, as he felt the overwhelming flow of emotions run through him. He couldn't believe he was here, marrying the woman he was always meant to be with. So much had happened to get them to where they were right now.

In his breast pocket he kept the letter she had wrote him, confessing her undying love for him. Telling him she couldn't sit on the sidelines anymore and wait for him to marry Savannah. He had made so many mistakes in his life, but pushing Penelope aside, had to be the biggest. But none of that mattered anymore. Now everything was right with the world. He was marrying the love of his life.

Reid stood next to Penelope as promised. When Derek brought her up to the alter she gave Reid a quick wink, thanking him for all that he had done for her. He was the true meaning of a best friend. He helped put her back together when she thought the world had crushed her - never to feel love again. Reid supported every decision Penelope made and that was a true friend.

She was brought out of her thoughts as the officiate spoke to Derek.

"Derek, do you have Penelope's ring?"

"Yes," he said holding the ring in his hand.

"Good, repeat after me: Penelope, with this ring, I marry you and bind my life to yours. It is a symbol of my eternal love. My everlasting friendship. And the promise of all my tomorrows."

Derek repeated the words as he placed the ring on Penelope's finger.

"Penelope, do you have Derek's ring?" he asked, smiling at the couple.

Penelope turned to Reid who handed her Derek's ring. "Yuppers. I got it right here." Everyone in the audience laughed as Penelope got ready to repeat the words.

"Derek, Hot Stuff, " she started. "With this ring, I marry you and bind my life to yours. It is a symbol of my eternal love. My everlasting friendship. And the promise of all my tomorrows." She placed the ring on Derek's finger and smiled.

The man smiled at the couple, before continuing. "Because you two came here today intending to marry, because you joined hands and made solemn vows and exchanged rings to remind you of those vows, and you are now joined as partners in mutual love and respect, according to the powers vested in me and the highest power of the land and the sea; I pronounce that your wedding vows are sealed and you may henceforth be known to all as husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride!"

Derek cupped Penelope's face in his hands as he brought her into a deep kiss, sealing their marriage as one.

The reception was everything Penelope and Derek ever wanted it to be. There was dancing and laughter as all of their friends and family celebrated their marriage. Dan and Randy along with Randy's new girlfriend Clara were also in attendance. It meant everything to Penelope to have everyone she cared about there.

That night as Derek lead her to the honeymoon suit of their hotel, neither one of them could stop beaming.

"We did it, Hot Stuff," Penelope said with a smile as they walked up to the room.

"Not yet. But we're about to," he smirked as she placed the key card in the slot to open the door. Once it swung open, he picked Penelope up and carried her over the threshold.

"You are something else, Derek," she said with a laugh as he carried her to the bed, placing her down in the middle.

"You haven't seen anything yet, baby,"

She gave him her best smile as she moved to the edge of the bed. "Would you mind helping me out of this dress, Sir Derek?"

"It would be my pleasure," he agreed as he moved behind her to start unbuttoning, what seemed like one hundred buttons down her back. "How in the world did you even get this on?" he asked once he got halfway done.

"I had Reid help me," she stated as she heard him growl. "Kidding, Handsome. The girls helped me."

He was okay with that answer as he continued with his task. When he reached the last button the dress pulled away from her body, leaving her in only a white lace see-through corset, with matching panties that said _bride_ on the back. "Oh shit!"

"You like?" she asked as she turned to face him.

"You have no idea," he said as he moved to kiss her. "I love you, Mrs. Morgan," he mumbled against her lips.

"I love you, too, Mr. Morgan."

He placed her in the middle of the bed, kissing her deeply as he finagled her panties off her body, never breaking their kiss. Once they were off, he repeated his nightly ritual with her. He started at her thighs, kissing them lightly. Then he moved to her stomach, her scar, her breasts, and her arms, before bringing his lips back to hers.

"Hot Stuff, you are far too over dressed," she giggled.

He shot off of the bed removing is attire in lightning speed. Once he was done he was once again back on the bed positioning himself at her center.

"Sweetheart, are you ready to make a baby?" he asked readying himself to finally join them together as one.

"With you, I am ready for anything."

* * *

 _AN: Well, I hope this was worth the wait. I hope you all enjoyed it. Thank you all so much! If you want an epilogue let me know, also let me know if you want it T or M. You all are so amazing_


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